 Going south on 17th Street, a vehicle makes a right turn onto Colorado Avenue. Note the sign on the opposite side of the street and the pavement arrow instructing that left turns are not allowed. Westside Pioneer photo
|
A City Public Works crew removed what had been a pedestrian-activated stoplight last week.
In its place is new signage for southbound 17th Street drivers, instructing them that they can only turn right (no left turns allowed) from the stop sign.
City Transportation Manager Kathleen Krager decided to remove the signal because it wasn't getting much use; also, she's explained, motorists on 17th Street who did not want to wait for avenue traffic were known to get out and push the pedestrian button to make those cars stop.
Asked about the sign denying left turns - which is the only one like that for a neighborhood street intersecting the avenue - Krager replied in an e-mail that “as a stop sign I want them to realize it is not that easy and there are sight distance problems. I realize not everyone will obey the no-left-turn sign but I hope they look carefully before turning out.”
She said she does not plan to ban left turns for avenue side streets anywhere else. “I just wanted some warning there because people had become used to sneaking through on a green ped light,” she said.
Westside Pioneer article