Driving You Crazy: Would Denver install flashing school zone signs on W. 6th Ave. near Knox Court?

DENVER — Kyle from Lakewood writes, “What's driving you crazy? Hey Jayson, something that has been driving me crazy lately is a small section of W 6th Avenue in front of the school: "Escuela de Guadalupe". There's a 20MPH School Zone in front of it, that lasts until 9am every weekday. As I leave my neighborhood from Knox and then turn right onto W 6th Avenue, the school zone immediately starts but most other of the cars do not notice the school zone section and so they get annoyed that I'm going slow. I really wish there was a flashing "school zone" sign so that people were aware of the kids around them! Sometimes I even see kids playing on the playground when people are going 35+ MPH and it seems so scary. Thanks Jayson!”

I’ve said this often — I get very bothered when I see drivers speed in a school zone, especially around elementary schools where there are little kids around. If you really look at the time difference between driving in that specific school zone at the school zone limit versus the normal speed limit, it is miniscule. The distance of the school zone is 865 feet. At the normal 30 mph, you get through there in 20 seconds. At the school zone speed limit of 20 mph, it takes 9 additional seconds — time that would most likely be lost waiting at the traffic signal on either side of the school zone anyway.

“First of all, kudos and gratitude to the driver who brought this to your attention. He is keeping our kids safe by slowing down around our campus,” Director of Marketing for Escuela de Guadalupe Janalee Chmel told me. “We do notice a lot of traffic in the morning and afternoon when we are welcoming and releasing students. Sometimes, cars are going so fast that our parents can't exit the alleyway from our carpool line. You'd think the giant playground would be enough to get people to slow down, but I bet flashing lights (coupled with the occasional photo radar van) might create some new habits, thereby keeping our community safer.”

Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) told me there are more than 180 school zones within Denver around the several hundred public and private schools. They all have some sort of school zone sign that are designed to remind drivers to provide a safe environment for kids whether they walk or ride a bike or are driven to or from their neighborhood school. The city said it has signs up at all the school zones but have installed flashing beacons in school zones located on a high-volume collectors or arterial roadways with a speed limit of at least 30 mph or more.

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Here is the good news, Kyle. Escuela de Guadalupe is on DOTI’s prioritized School Zone Flashing Beacon list. That means it is one of approximately 50 schools that will have flashing school zone signs installed next to the school. DOTI told me it hasproactively reviewed all schools in the City and County of Denver to create a prioritized School Zone Flashing Beacon list. That list is based on analysis of the type of roadway and speed criteria, traffic counts and Vision Zero crash data. The city couldn’t tell me exactly when the flashing beacons will be coming to this section of W. 6^th Ave. as the school is in the bottom quarter of the prioritization list. The city did say the signs will be installed based on available resources.  

Chmel told me the school welcomes the city’s decision to put signs and flashing lights on W. 6th Ave. However, she said there is one unique challenge with flashing beacons. Escuela de Guadalupe has extended days to allow for more learning and parent job flexibility. Chmel hopes the flashing light can be synched with their unique school schedule versus a typical Denver Public Schools schedule.

DOTI told me the cost to install between two and four flashing beacons is approximately $100,000 at each site. This cost also includes utilities, underground boring for conduits and wiring, tie-ins to the electrical grid, and communication equipment to connect the beacons to their traffic signal infrastructure. The city added that leaders are continuing to explore alternative technology improvements to manage these products in the field while also lowering implementation costs. That would help expand the number of these flashing beacons to every school zone across Denver.

Denver police told me that the department wants people to drive safely in every school zone. The agnecy added that it will increase officer visibility in school zones and conduct enforcement, as necessary, to help ensure safety and remind commuters to slow down and obey all traffic laws.

By the way, the fines for speeding in a school zone vary depending on how fast the driver was going over the limit and are automatically doubled because of the school zone.

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.