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Driving You Crazy: Why does eastbound 56th Ave at Peoria lose a lane only to add it across Peoria?

I think it’s confusing and dangerous the way they have it now

Rogelio from Denver writes, “What’s driving you crazy? Going east on 56th Ave there is an additional thru lane that starts about 50 yards west of the intersection.

Why does eastbound 56th Ave at Peoria loose a lane to only add it across Peoria?

By: Jayson Luber

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Rogelio from Denver writes, “What’s driving you crazy? Going east on 56th Ave there is an additional thru lane that starts about 50 yards west of the intersection. Since the right lane must turn right on Peoria, wouldn’t it make more sense to start the right turn lane there instead of pushing traffic on the right lane to merge to the left if they want to keep driving east on 56th? I think it’s confusing and dangerous the way they have it now.”

What makes sense to you and me Rogelio and what seems like an easy fix is rarely the case for government traffic engineers. What happens along eastbound 56^th is when you are in the right lane, as you approach Peoria the long-dashed lines turn into more frequent, shorter dashed lines indicating the right lane transitions from a through lane to a trap lane, where you are forced into a mandatory turn or exit.

At the same time as the right trap lane starts, the left lane becomes a middle lane as a third lane appears becoming the new left lane. It is those two lanes that are the through lanes that cross Peoria on the way to Pena Blvd.

An engineer with Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure tells me this current lane configuration comes from the legacy striping from when 56^th Ave had a total of three lanes east of Peoria. Now 56^th east of Peoria has two lanes in each direction.

To me it looks easy enough for the current two through lane configuration could continue to be through lanes as they shift to the left while a new right turn only lane appears to the right. DOTI engineers tell me their team will look at that possibility, but they will have to take into account certain design requirements. For example, there are some design limitations of how long a right-turn lane can be and there are some minimum length requirements to provide taper and deceleration space based on roadway speeds. They will also have to look to see if there is sufficient right-of-way to fit the required design and length of a right turn lane only conversion. Modifications might also need to be made to make sure drivers don’t attempt to continue straight through the intersection from the right lane exit only lane but that might just be adding a sign.

Don’t look for changes soon. DOTI tells me their engineering team will take a look at the area before the end of this year and if they decide to make a change, the restriping will require a funding source that hasn’t been identified yet. Like I said earlier, what looks like an easy fix to you and me never is for government.

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.