Mayor pushes proposal to install more speed bumps along roads in Colorado's Commerce City
It's along Commerce City roadways such as 60th Avenue and Olive Street where longtime residents like Verona Gonzales say they have had enough.
"The drivers around here are crazy," said Gonzales. "We've had some that have come straight through here [and] crashed into my house. We've had folks that have come straight through the yard here, almost taken out poles."
Gonzales says the traffic and speeding can be so bad that she does not even feel safe letting her kids play on the sidewalk of the Colorado city.
"Absolutely, especially on their bikes and scooters," she said. "People take this corner way too fast."
"We do have someone who lives in the area. She's 90 years old. She called me up and said, 'Please, I'm watching every day on my porch and seen people just fly by. It's really dangerous,'" said Commerce City Mayor Steve Douglas.
It is why Douglas is pushing a new proposal to install more speed bumps across city routes that's based on resident complaints, traffic data and accident reports. This includes areas like Olive Street from 60th Avenue to 58th Avenue, Oneida Street from 60th Avenue to 58th Avenue, and from 60th to 58th with Southbound Street and Northbound north that run along Newport Street and Magnolia Street.
"There were 34 corridors in Adams County and Commerce City that they installed those speed bumps," said Douglas. "It's a lot, but it's not enough. Those speed bumps are going to save lives."
Gonzales says it's one of many solutions residents like her have been asking for.
"While they can be inconvenient in theory for residents, those of us that have to drive them every day, at least that's something that makes you have to slow down, or else you're going to damage your car," she said. "We've asked the city for more crosswalks, they finally put one with flashing lights in front of a big park that was fairly recently open but that was still put in several years after it opened, and hopefully people are paying attention."
She is hopeful steps like this will slow down the risk of accidents, especially among children.
"They really deserve to be able to be safe and have the ability to come out and play, too," said Gonzales.
