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Are uncontrolled intersections out of control?

I’ve noticed three intersections (perhaps more) not having any type of traffic sign. No “stop,” no “yield,” nothing. These intersections are Second Street and East Third Avenue, Third Street and East Third Avenue as well as West Second Ave and 27th Street. They are low-traffic or three-way intersections. Still, I think they need signs. Why wouldn’t the city put up signs at these intersections, or are they waiting for an accident before it’s deemed necessary? – Bryant Liggett, concerned commuter, 20-year resident, parent, taxpayer

Action Line salutes your civic spirit, and you’re not going to like the answer.

The aforementioned intersections don’t have enough traffic to justify signs.

Moreover, Durango has far too many signed intersections.

That was confirmed by our good friend and City Manager Ron LeBlanc in a fortuitous encounter at a local hardware emporium this past Saturday morning.

(Ron was procuring a new shop-vac, but that’s beside the point.)

The city’s Engineering Department follows well-established, fact-based and proven guidelines determining if, which and where traffic signs are installed.

However, over the years, dozens of traffic signs have been installed based on insistent neighbors who take the matter to City Council.

Politics trumps science, and “uncontrolled intersections” (That’s what they’re called) are tamed. But not really.

Countless studies show when traffic signs are placed at every neighborhood corner, people stop paying attention to them.

And having intersections with ignored traffic signs are far worse than intersections without signage.

Rather than erect unneeded and counterproductive signs, let’s simply follow the official Colorado Driver Handbook:

“When more than one vehicle reaches an uncontrolled intersection at the same time, the vehicle on the left must yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right and allow the vehicle on the right to go first.”

Either that – or go all out. Install some flashing yellow arrows and their accompanying signs explaining what the flashing yellow arrows mean.

If the city evicts the Durango Gun Club from the building at Chapman Hill, could the gun club then go to the homeless shelter and set up a range? After all, the club wouldn’t have a home. – Sign me, Wanting to Stir Things Up

Jeepers creepers. Action Line gets dragged into another hurly-burly.

But thankfully, it’s a moot point because the gun club last week decided to drop its mandatory National Rifle Association membership requirement.

However, if the club found itself “homeless,” the homeless shelter is not the go-to place, if only for technical reasons.

First of all, the city of Durango owns the land on which the Durango Community Shelter sits, just as it does the land under the gun club.

And the city’s smackdown left no doubt: Groups using public land for free cannot require membership in organizations many deem objectionable.

Second, the gun club would not be homeless even if booted from Chapman Hill. That’s because the club would still have a home on the range – the outdoor shooting facility south of Bodo Industrial Park.

That range is on land owned by La Plata County, and right now, the county is saying, “Phew! We’re glad we didn’t have to weigh in on that NRA thing.”

Thus, Action Line can follow the county’s lead in dodging a bullet – and avoid the wrath of firearms enthusiasts, human-services advocates, city officials, municipal attorneys, constitutional scholars and the ghost of Charlton Heston.

Maybe the city could avoid a future fracas by requiring everyone using any public facility to be a member of an associated interest group.

For instance, the Durango Wheel Club uses public roads. Why not require those free-loading cyclists to join NASCAR?

Likewise, 4-H kids showing livestock at the fairgrounds should be members of PETA.

And for anyone visiting the Manna Soup Kitchen, a strict requirement to join the other NRA – the National Restaurant Association.

It’s food for thought.

Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you never want to belong to any club that would have someone like you for a member.



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