This past weekend, there were extra eyes watching drivers in Glenwood Springs. Cameras were set up as part of a traffic flow study, which will influence stop light changes this winter. It all started because of complaints about crossing -- and getting onto-- Highway 82 in Glenwood.
“I probably could say there’s been some concern about the wait times on side streets,” says David Oldham. He helps oversee regional traffic operations for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). “And there are times when someone waiting on the side street could wait upwards of two, maybe even two and a half minutes to cross the highway.” It’s better to keep the wait to one, or one and a half minutes.
Drivers have voiced concerns about another issue, too. “There’s been some complaints about individuals catching multiple red lights,” continues Oldham, “when they probably should have caught a green light.”
So a consulting firm will be reviewing footage from the weekend, looking at how many cars were waiting at side streets. Consultants got some real time data, too, by driving Highway 82 in Glenwood. That’s to get a sense for the travel time from one end of the corridor of study to another. The latter is mainly from Highway 82 and Blake Street to the intersection of 6th Street and Laurel Street.
Results from the study should be complete in September. Oldham says traffic lights likely will be updated this winter, before early construction begins on the Grand Avenue Bridge. But drivers shouldn't get their hopes up too much. “There’s many different methodologies for updating the timing for a signal, and we don’t want to make any large promises that we’ll vastly improve traffic,” says Oldham. “The goal is to improve the flow of traffic, but we don’t want to make it seem like we’re taking a horrible condition and making it great. There’s limited options for us with signals on how much we can truly improve traffic conditions.”
That’s because the highway’s already at capacity, and there’s traffic both commuting through Glenwood Springs, plus locals just trying to get across town. Oldham promises to time the lights as best as possible prior to the new Grand Avenue Bridge construction next year. Then CDOT will update the timing again after the bridge is built.
