NewsLocal News

Actions

Denver councilwoman, residents pleading for improvements along 13th, 14th avenues

East 14th and Glencoe
Posted at 5:11 PM, Jan 11, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-11 21:14:03-05

DENVER — You can feel the frustration among homeowners along the East 13th and 14th avenues just based on how many "SLOW DOWN" signs you see posted along the busy, residential roads.

"The real concerns have been within the past two years," Eric Haglund said.

He's had more than his fair share of encounters with drivers speeding and running lights. In June 2022, a driver in a stolen car crashed into his built-in garage. The police report, Haglund says, showed the driver was going as fast as 75 mph on 13th Avenue near Haglund's home.

"For weeks, if not months, after this accident, I would have trouble sleeping hearing cars racing down the street at night and wondering if it could be another one that would crash into the house," he said.

A few months after that crash, a driver at East 13th Avenue and Syracuse Street ran the light, killed a bicyclist and took off. A block north of there, a man in April died in a violent crash.

In that same intersection, East 14th Avenue and Syracuse Street, Denver's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) added new traffic signals that have a yellow reflective outline.

But a neighbor Denver7 spoke with questions whether this did anything, as there was a bad crash just a few weeks later.

District 5 councilwoman Amanda Sawyer shares in her constituents' frustrations about the inaction from DOTI. While she's limited in what she can do, she says the city has been trying to install traffic-calming measures along the two roads for the past several years. A pandemic and problems finding a contractor have delayed those efforts.

"We signed a contract at council for the installation of those measures. They're still not in, and we're still seeing accidents there," Sawyer said. "When is our city going to stand up for our residents? This is insane."

DOTI has installed a speed monitor at East 14th Avenue and Glencoe Street. There are two of them near Haglund's home.

But with debris from a crash this week just outside his front door, he and Sawyer worry this isn't enough.

"I receive these emails from my residents saying, 'Why won't anyone help us?'" Sawyer said. "I feel exactly the same way. Why won't anyone help us?"

Denver7 reached out to a spokesperson with DOTI but has not received a response, as of Wednesday afternoon.

Data provided by Sawyer shows the number of injury crashes along East 13th and East 14th avenues between North Colorado Boulevard and Yosemite Street have increased since 2020.

  • 2020: 24 injury crashes
  • 2021: 32 injury crashes
  • 2022: 38 injury crashes