New 45 mph speed limit starts Monday on Mesa Ridge Parkway in Fountain
Scott Harrison
FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) — Signs marking the decrease of traffic speed to a maximum of 45 mph are in place along part of Mesa Ridge Parkway on the north side of town, as the change becomes official on Monday.
The reduced speed will cover three miles of the busy parkway (State Highway 16) between Interstate 25 and Powers Boulevard.
CDOT (the Colorado Department of Transportation) announced the lowered speed limit last month.
Drivers will travel even slower when classes resume at Mesa Ridge High School next week, at the intersection of Mesa Ridge and Syracuse Street.
CDOT will establish a school zone there that will decrease the speed limit to 35 mph during school hours.
Although the high school semester starts next week, classes at the James Madison Charter Academy — a few blocks north — begin Monday, and it’s unclear what impact it may have on traffic in the area.
On Sunday afternoon, KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior drove along the parkway and saw four 45 mph signs installed between I-25 and the high school; three on the westbound side and one on the eastbound side.
The Road Warrior previously reported that although CDOT anticipates few traffic impacts from the new King Soopers grocery store that opened across from the high school last week, the reduced speed limit is driven by ongoing development in the area and a history of frequent crashes.
“The commercial land use around the Colorado (Highway)16 corridor is a factor in setting the speed limit,” said Pepper Whittlef, a CDOT program manager. “In addition, we also look at the number of kids crossing the roadway and the number of access points to the highway. Those all contribute toward the reduction in the speed limit.”
The Road Warrior spoke with several drivers last week who said that while they agree with the need for safety, they’re skeptical about whether the 45 mph limit will work, given the amount of traffic exiting I-25 from the west and westbound downhill traffic from Fountain Mesa Road.
“I think ten miles an hour (slower) during most of the day is a reasonable request of people to travel during the school zone hours,” Whittlef explained. “When we do have an increased number of vehicles and pedestrians, an additional ten miles per hour is also prudent.”
CDOT is responding to a pair of recent concerns expressed by drivers — to prevent school traffic from backing up into the Mesa Ridge/Syracuse intersection, and avoid a similar backup from Fountain Mesa, as customers try to enter the Lowe’s Home Improvement store.