Hwy 285 Traffic Congestion & Safety Issues - Contact CDOT Please

AAAAARRRRGGGGHHH! Last evening there was a shooting in Conifer. I was southbound on 285 when two Jeffco sheriff's vehicles turned left onto the highway from Kings Valley. Warned by the lights and sirens, I stopped to allow the responders unimpeded access onto the highway from the side road. Unfortunately, the more 'privileged' driver/vehicle behind me apparently disagreed with my actions and tried to pass me on the shoulder, nearly colliding with the first Jeffco vehicle.

While this may not be of primary concern as law enforcement investigates the shooting, the issue of safety at that intersection once more rears its ugly head. Without intending to kick a dead horse, I'd certainly like to suggest some sort of emergency warning light there, similar to those I see elsewhere at fire stations. The last thing the community would have needed last night was yet another preventable accident at that location. When, where, what, and how do we initiate some real and positive action before one more person is injured?

CONIFER, Colo. (CBS4) – Four years ago Lenny and Heather Juull got their dream home in the foothills after years in Denver. Every day they travel to their Denver Fasteners business in town and “almost every day it seems to be worse and worse,” says Lenny about traveling Highway 285.

He runs a dash camera that has recorded egregious violations and out-of-control driving. Probably none was worse than the driver who came barreling through between lanes as Heather was at the wheel heading south not far from Tiny Town.

“I immediately jerked and held my breath, and took a big gasp,” said Heather about their near miss. “I watched two people in front of me get hit.” The SUV driver continued to careen down the highway for several miles before he was stopped. There were car parts along the highway as Lenny and Heather drove home.

A town hall-style meeting was held Oct. 9 at the Platte Canyon Fire Protection District Station #2 in Bailey. The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possible removal of the existing traffic light at the intersection of U.S. Highway 285 and County Road 43A.

Parties scheduled to attend included Park County Commissioners Dick Elsner and Ray Douglas, County Manager Tom Eisenman, and a representative from the Colorado Department of Transportation, who would be charged with receiving recommendations and input and answering questions from concerned citizens.

When Elsner opened the floor for discussion on to the first agenda item, more than a dozen hands shot up as citizens competed to have their say.

Predictably, the absence of a CDOT representative landed like a lead balloon upon the large, vocal audience that had much to say about their daily driving experiences on Highway 285, considered by studies to be the most deadly highway in the state, and among the top five most deadly highways in the entire nation.

“How are we supposed to solve problems with CDOT when they can’t even get a representative to the meeting?” one citizen asked.