Press Releases
High speeds on Sixth Avenue
good for safety, bad for noise
LeRoy Standish - Lakewood News
11/6/03
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Two years ago, when the speed limit on West Sixth Avenue between
Sheridan Boulevard and Interstate 70 was raised from 55 mph
to 65 mph, noise levels increased but safety may have also
improved.
According to preliminary figures compiled over
the last year by the Colorado Department of Transportation,
accidents on West Sixth Avenue have decreased by 40 percent
since the speed limit was raised.
The initial figures will likely upset residents
whose homes line the busy thoroughfare. They are miffed by
the continual noise of vehicles traveling the roadway. For
more than a decade, they have tried and failed to get sound
walls erected as buffers between the highway and their homes.
Failing that, many are now pushing to cut the speed limit
back to 55 mph.
The most recent effort has drawn the attention
of Rep. Ramey Johnson, R-Golden and Sen. Maryanne “Moe”
Keller, D-Wheat Ridge. Both have worked with residents for
the last year, hosting West Sixth Avenue summits to find a
solution to the increasing decibels coming from the 63,766
vehicles per day on the roadway.
“There’s a lot of anger and concern
that’s been out there and it’s not going away,”
Johnson said during a Nov. 3 round-table discussion on the
topic. Other state representatives were at the table, along
with CDOT officials and representatives from the Jefferson
County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado State Patrol,
the cities of Lakewood and Golden, and West Sixth Avenue resident
groups.
At the start of the meeting, Keller told everyone
CDOT no longer provides funds to build sound walls.
“The only other option we can think of
is lowering the speed,” Keller said.
She recently bounced the proposal off CDOT Director
Tom Norton.
“He was not thrilled with the idea,”
she said.
Lowering the speed limit would only reduce sound
levels by three to five decibels, according to experts. Currently,
noise levels in the back yards of homes along West Sixth Avenue
range between 58 to 80 decibels, according to Johnson. Traffic
is so loud anyone conversing in one of these back yards needs
to yell in order to be heard.
But CDOT may be reconsidering its stance on
sound walls, according to John Muscatell, CDOT’s Region
Six Director. Residents in Aspen complained about noise coming
from Colorado 92, forcing CDOT to consider the possibility
of entering into a partnership with home owners associations
or local municipalities to build and maintain sound walls.
That public meeting will be held 1 p.m., Nov. 19, at 4201
E. Arkansas Ave., Denver.
Mike Paslay, from the Sixth Avenue West Homeowners
Association, urged those working on the issue of noise abatement
to drop the speed issue and concentrate on sound walls.
“My concern is that it is going to give
false hopes to all the people living along there,” he
said. “I think we are wasting our time with the speed
limit. It’s a piece of the puzzle, but it is not a realistic
piece.”
Besides, reducing the speed may increase the
number of accidents, according to CDOT. Muscatell said the
speed was increased because no one obeys the law in the first
place. Before July 2001, when the speed limit was raised to
65 mph, “there was 95 percent non-compliance,”
he said.
There was great variation in the speed of vehicles
traveling West Sixth Avenue, he said. This led to erratic
driving behavior and produced difficulty for drivers merging
into traffic and exiting the highway. By raising the speed
limit, traffic flows at a steadier pace and thus produces
a safer road, he said.
The initial figures CDOT has compiled seem to
support the argument for keeping West Sixth Avenue flowing
at 65 mph. Those figures need further study, Muscatell said.
He went on to say that CDOT needs at least another year of
data “before we pronounce that we have done a great
job,” he said.
The 40 percent reduction in the accident rate
has even CDOT officials scratching their heads in awe. “It’s
amazing this is happening,” Muscatell said. “This
is off the charts in our book.”
Keller said those who support a lower speed
limit should be prepared for a backlash.
“People like to go fast,” Keller
said. “You need to be prepared for the criticism that
we all are going to get.”
