Driving You Crazy: What's the reason for the single traffic light in a shopping center off Lowell at Midway?

BROOMFIELD, Colo — Jean from Broomfield writes, “What’s driving you crazy? Hey Jayson, they put in a single traffic light in a shopping center off Lowell at Midway in Broomfield. Is there a reason behind it?”

I can assure you the shopping center doesn’t have enough traffic to warrant a traffic signal. That light is one of the fun parts of the new Traffic Garden at Conoco Park. The new park design was dedicated on July 24, 2026 as a place where young people can practice their biking and scootering skills on pretend streets with stop signs and that traffic signal.

The traffic garden sits on the site of a former in-line hockey rink and skate park that was originally constructed in 1998. About 10 years ago Broomfield Parks staff started to notice fewer and fewer kids using the park on a regular basis so they started brainstorming ways to revitalize the park and bring more young people and families back to the park. Since the original intent of the skate park was centered around encouraging kids to get outside and move around in a safe place, Broomfield Parks staff wanted to honor that and came up with this new design.

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The traffic garden is about the size of a hockey rink and has a street painted around the perimeter. On the north side it has a painted traffic circle and on the south side there is a railroad crossing. The layout includes crosswalks, stops signs and standard roadway lane markings so riders can learn real-world street skills in a setting built for confidence and fun. There are benches, a couple of tables and shade trees for parents to sit and watch as their kids roam the pretend streets.

Broomfield tells me they put a lot of thought into all of the ancillary features of the park including converting the former turf to rock and planting xeric plants to reduce water consumption. They painted the picnic tables and benches red, yellow and green to mirror a traffic signal and painted the fence orange like a traffic cone. Designers also worked to include sensory features with soft trails, different textures, and colors and fragrances of plants.

The free park is located at 12804 Lowell Blvd in Broomfield. It is on the east side of Lowell Blvd, just north of Midway Blvd behind the gas station. It is open daily from 5:00 AM – 11:00 PM and is open to all members of the public.

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.