Driving You Crazy: Why not just make one long right-turn lane on S. Quebec St. at Evans Ave./Warren Dr.?

Mike from Denver writes, “What's driving you crazy? The "right lane must turn right" signs along southbound Quebec at Warren and Evans. There are two signs as you approach that weirdly acute angled turn at Evans. One states the right turn only is at Warren which just goes to a gas station and Planet Fitness, then immediately another that doesn't specify Warren for the turn at Evans. About 90% of the time, the Warren sign is ignored and cars just keep driving the approximately 50 feet to the turn at Evans. If you follow the rules, but want to turn at Evans, you either need to force your way in to the Evans turn, or stop dead in the thru lane on SB Quebec and wait for an opening. Neither is ideal. Why not just make it a long right turn lane by removing the "at Warren" part of the sign to remove all confusion and lessen the constant issues?”

This is a tricky spot as you said, Mike. When I went out to visit, I watched as most of the drivers who wanted to turn at either E. Warren Drive or Evans Avenue get into the right lane before Warren. Maybe one of every 10 drivers did it the correct way by waiting until after Warren to move over to the right to go west on Evans.

This roadway is on the line of Arapahoe County and Denver with Arapahoe County talking the lead. When I talked to the Arapahoe County Transportation Division, I was told this design with two nearby right turns is not an ideal situation. But after looking at traffic flow and signage jointly with the City and County of Denver, it was determined this current configuration is the best alternative for safety and efficient traffic operations for both intersections.

Like you pointed out, the correct way to make the two right turns is use the first right only lane to turn right at Warren and stay in the right through lane and only merge right to the right turn only lane to go right at Evans.

The Arapahoe County engineers told me, there are some unusual challenges and constraints they took in consideration when deciding how to lay out the signage and turning. The intersection at Evans/E. Iliff Avenue with S. Quebec Street isn’t a typical 90-degree intersection. It has both horizontal and vertical transitions so the streets could align at the intersection. There are also some hills with significant vertical grades that limit roadway geometry and access locations to both Warren and Evans that require walls on the west side of Quebec as compared to the flatter side to the east.

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One of the other unforeseen complications here is that the gas station right there, more often than not, has some of the lowest gas prices in the state. That brings in a large influx of drivers looking to save money and adds to the congestion and turning confusion. To help with traffic flow, the pair of traffic signals have been tied together operationally as less distance is available for both of the right turn lanes. However, if traffic volumes increase to the point where queued traffic is routinely stacking up before Warren, I’m told one of the potential solutions would be to restrict or eliminate the access to both Planet Fitness and the gas station from Quebec — an option neither business is interested in seeing.

Arapahoe County said it reviewed alternatives on safety indicate, and found there is a higher number of crashes and operational delays when drivers queue through the adjacent signal, as compared to the current signage instructing the right lane to turn right at Warren.

So until traffic volumes increase dramatically, the current configuration will stay in place. Until then, remember to watch for right turning drivers going to Evans blowing past the right at Warren. If there is a conflict where a driver doesn’t turn right and hits someone merging over, they would most likely be at fault.

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.