Driving You Crazy: How do I get over along NB Lincoln Street when it's backed up at 6th Ave. to before 5th?

Christine from Denver writes, “Hi Jayson, I love your driving me crazy feature and I have one for you. Northbound on Lincoln St between 5th and 6th… what am I supposed to do if I’m turning right on 6th during rush hour? The right lane between 4th and 5th is reserved for right turns and buses only but the right lane between 5th and 6th has a solid do not cross line. I always wait until I cross over the 5th and Lincoln intersection before getting into the right lane but so many people drive straight from the right lane south of 5^th and it’s a tight area for all of that to be happening! According to a traffic expert, what should I be doing?”

I know that spot well, Christine, as I used to drive along there every workday for 18 years going to our old Denver7 building. Unlike you, I would drive there at 3:30 a.m. so I didn’t have to fight other drivers, but I have seen that problem.

Technically, the way that entire restricted lane along Lincoln Street north of Interstate 25 is supposed to work is every driver should wait until they pass the street before the one they want to turn right on before getting over. In this case, you are supposed to wait until you pass 5^th Ave. before you get over into that restricted right lane so you can then make either the gentle right turn on eastbound 6^th Ave. or the hard right that leads to eastbound Speer Boulevard. As you said, often drivers get over early before 5^th Ave. and just cross over 5th to be in that turn lane because there is usually a backup at the 6th Ave light. That is what I would do as well if I saw the turn lane was backed up.

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I asked a Denver police officer what you should do there. He told me if he saw everyone driving past 5th Ave. and going up to 6^th Ave., it isn’t that big of a deal and he couldn’t pull everyone over. He also said it is a low-level offense and has “better things to do than pull over all of those people rolling over 5th Ave.” Take that for what it is worth.

You mentioned that drivers are not supposed to cross the solid white line. That is not exactly right. It is not illegal to cross the solid white lines like this. The line is there to delineate that this is a different kind of lane and you shouldn’t cross it unless you are making a right turn or you are driving an RTD bus. Other times when you see the solid white line you are asked to stay in your lane. However, it isn’t illegal to change lanes. E-470 at toll plazas are a good example of that. Where it is definitely illegal to cross a solid white line is when you see them as a double white line like the ones you see along the metro area express lanes.

The only other option, besides getting over early with everyone else, would be to make the right even earlier at 3^rd Ave. and go to Logan Street and then take a left up to 6^th Ave. If you choose that be careful at 3rd & Logan because it can be a bit tricky with the way people speed in there. Or you could pass 6^th all together and make a right on 7^th Ave. and another right on Grant Street to get to 6th. That one is pretty safe.

Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 25 years.) He's obsessed with letting viewers know what's happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or listen to his award winning Driving You Crazy podcast on any podcast app including iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podbean, or YouTube.