Roundabout at Bradley/Cody controversial

QUESTION: Please advise on how we as a community could get a stoplight installed at Cody Drive and Bradley Road — a very dangerous area. Many large trucks due to the concrete and dump station and also a school, Pinello.
- Concerned

ANSWER: The state and the county have met about the traffic problems in this area because the county will take over responsibility for Highway 83 this year.

The two options: a traffic signal or a roundabout. The roundabout was determined to be the most efficient and will be at the bottom of the Highway 83 off-ramp at the Bradley-Cody intersection. There was a major concern about large vehicles being able to travel around a roundabout, and Bob Wilson of Colorado Department of Transportation said it will be designed specifically to accommodate the dump trucks, trash haulers and school buses that use this intersection daily.

Jim L. who lives in that area responded: "Who would we get in touch with to stop the idiotic idea of a traffic circle at Cody and Bradley roads? These things don’t work anywhere they currently exist, even when only cars are involved, the classic worst case example being New Center Point Drive. Who thinks they’ll work when large trucks are added to the mix? Why not try adding two more stop signs to make the corner a 4-way stop first? I live on Bradley Road and haven’t met anyone around here happy with the idea."

CDOT said a number of power poles would need to be moved if a traffic signal was added, and a signal wouldn’t necessarily improve the traffic flow. A four-way stop would worsen the rush-hour backups that are already a problem there.

The roundabout, which is described as “more efficient,” will be designed for the large trucks and school buses that travel this intersection daily. In roundabouts, “motorists yield rather than stop and a higher traffic flow quickens the commute,” says CDOT. And Mindy Crane of CDOT says roundabout accidents are less severe than those in intersections.

CDOT has statistics from a number of roundabouts in the Denver area, including Jefferson County. Readers who have driven in Europe sent positive feedback about roundabouts.

You can file complaints with: info@dot.state.co.us. They will be logged in and sent to regional CDOT personnel working on this project. To talk to someone directly, call the Pueblo number: 1-719-546-5411.