Pilot project targets traffic safety on Green Mountain Drive

Excessive speeds, poor compliance with stop signs and documented crash patterns – these are the target of a pilot project to improve traffic safety on Green Mountain Drive, underway now by Lakewood Transportation Engineering.

What's involved?

We are replacing some four-way stop signs with traffic circles and yield signs for testing. A traffic circle functions in many ways like a mini-roundabout, with a small island in the center of the road that motorists must circumnavigate. The low-cost traffic circles result in a narrower road and typically slower speeds. The two intersections testing the circles are:

• Valentine Way/Green Mountain Drive
• Urban Way/Green Mountain Drive

Map

Additionally, the study will look for any reductions in speeding between the traffic circles. It will also look for improvements in drivers stopping at the four-way stops at Green Mountain Drive's intersections with Wright Street and with Welch Circle, which are also part of the pilot study. 

Why Green Mountain Drive?

Green Mountain Drive from Alameda Parkway to Union Boulevard was recently repaved. With repaving projects, we typically review traffic control devices to see what changes should be considered to better serve the public’s safety and transportation needs. The test sites were selected for the pilot program because of documented excessive speeds, poor compliance with stop signs and documented crash patterns. A two-hour observation at midday and during the rush hour found the following driver behaviors:

Valentine Way: 

• 35% (49 of 139) of all drivers did not come to a "reasonable stop," which is a full stop, or entering the intersection under 5 mph.
• 10% (14 of 139) of non-stopping drivers showed a "malicious disregard" for stopping, making no effort to reduce speed prior to entering the intersection. 

Urban Way: 

• 37% (77 of 206) of the drivers did not reasonably stop.
• 10% (20 of 206) of drivers showed a malicious disregard for stopping.

Additionally: 

• 85% of drivers drove more than 11 mph over the posted speed limit of 30 mph, according to our 2019 traffic study.
• 11 documented crashes in six years occurred at the Wright Street and Welch Circle intersections.

In-Depth