ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — Three new roundabouts through a business park along Inverness Drive West in Arapahoe County are meant to slow down drivers and increase safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The speed limit on the road is 25 miles per hour, but Arapahoe County officials said the average speed recorded is 37 miles per hour. County leaders said it's a safety concern as the area sees thousands of daily commuters, cyclists, and pedestrians.
In Sept. 2024, Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber explained a viewer question during his Driving You Crazy segment. Ella from Centennial wrote, “What’s driving you crazy? What is with the strange, mile long bike lane on a part of Clinton Street north of Dry Creek? It just seems so out of place and has an open lane to the right. Can you drive in that little lane or not and why build a bike lane so short?”
After speaking with Arapahoe County officials, Jayson said the seemingly out of place bike lane was part of planned road improvements to extend the lane south to the Inverness Resort and north into the business park.
You can watch Jayson Luber's Driving You Crazy segment from 2024 in the video player below.
On Thursday, the county unveiled the finished road improvements which include a transformed four-lane road to a two-lane road with dedicated bicycle lanes on both sides. Trent Marshall, the project manager, said new roundabouts along Inverness Drive West are a safer alternative to traditional left-hand turns and can reduce speed.
"Now, with bikes sharing the road with them, we wanted to slow people down," said Marshall. "It's also a larger effort to bring bicycle facilities up into this area, with the light rail that came in here a while ago, trying to get bicyclists to the RTD facilities and pedestrians and that type of stuff."
The $7 million improvements along Inverness Drive West are one of two projects meant to accommodate drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians in the area. Construction is also finishing up along Dry Creek Road just east of the I-25 interchange to extend the eastbound right lane to avoid quick lane changes for drivers.
Glen Ort said he often rides his bike along Inverness Drive West and noticed the construction in the area. He said he's still getting used to riding his bike around the roundabouts but understands they're meant to slow drivers down.
"They did add a bike lane, so I guess that is one improvement, but it kind of goes, it's not one solid block lane all the way through. You actually have to get on on the roundabouts. You almost have to get on the sidewalk," said Ort.
Related: Denver7's On Two Wheels is dedicated to raising awareness to the dangers of biking in the Mile High City. If you have an issue we should check out or know of someone in the cycling community that deserves a shout out, email us at on2wheels@denver7.com. Watch our special report in the video player below:
Arapahoe County officials said the two projects are meant to address congestion issues identified in a 2015-2017 study on the I-25/Dry Creek Corridor. The total cost of the improvements, complete with new traffic signals, signs, roadway crossings, and lighting, totaled more than $11 million. Marshall said the county used a mix of federal funding and contributions from the Inverness Metropolitan Improvement District and the Southeast Public Improvement Metro District.
