Driving You Crazy: What reasoning does Denver have for the protected left turn from 13th Ave. onto Broadway?

DENVER — Kevin in Capitol Hill writes, “What’s driving you crazy? I would love to know what reasoning the city has for the protected left turn from 13^th onto Broadway. The protected bike lane is on the north side of 13th so that is not it. I know I sit at that light for ages with zero traffic coming from the north on Broadway. It's a giant time suck right in downtown.”

A protected left or right turn is when there is an arrow or other sign that allows for turns at only certain times during a stoplight's cycle. In this case from westbound 13^th to southbound Broadway, it is a red left turn arrow and sign stating "left on green arrow only."

I asked Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) about the reasoning behind the prohibitive left here. I was told, it ensures safe pedestrian street crossings as the corridor is next to regional and cultural attractions including the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Central Public Library and Civic Center Park.

City engineers also told me that prohibiting left turns on red also increases vehicular safety. I can vouch that drivers often go well over the 30 mph speed limit on South Broadway and many change lanes abruptly and that behavior, mixed with left-turning drivers, could lead to a wreck.

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At the heart of any prohibitive turn is indicating to all traffic that pedestrians have the right of way and a dedicated green arrow allows drivers to safely complete the turn without potential conflict from people, other vehicles or cross traffic. The City of Englewood has a really well done webpage explaining prohibitive turns, when they are warranted and why they aren’t used everywhere.

When I went to watch traffic flow through the intersection, I found it worked very well. The westbound crosswalk signal came on right as the green light turned on for westbound 13^th Ave. traffic. Drivers were prevented from turning left for 30 seconds before the left green arrow illuminated. I didn’t see anyone have difficulty walking across Broadway in that amount of time. Granted, I only saw a few people crossing the road when I was there for about an hour in the late morning. There are many more people who cross the street earlier in the morning and during the afternoon rush. Once the left turn arrow turned green, it didn’t turn red for 22 seconds. That left ample time for all the left-turning drivers to get through the intersection.

I timed the light for southbound Broadway traffic at 35 seconds. So if you waited at the left turn arrow on 13^th right after the arrow light turns red, you would have to wait 90 seconds until you get a green arrow. Not too long — in my opinion — to wait, even though I acknowledge that it feels more like five minutes late at night or on the weekends when there is light traffic and few, if any, people are crossing the street.

I finally asked the city engineer if they would consider removing the prohibition and allow for left turns with a yellow arrow or change the timing sometime in the future.

I was told, “We are not considering allowing left turns on red from E. 13th Ave to southbound Broadway to protect pedestrians and ensure that walking is a safe and convenient mobility option in this area.”

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.