Be Aware of New 4-Way Stop at Mildred

A NEW, FOUR-WAY STOP AT MILDRED AND MONTEZUMA AVENUE IN CORTEZ IS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY. I'M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE. YOU'RE WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK. WHEN YOU DRIVE NORTH OR SOUTH ON MILDRED, A NEW FOUR-WAY STOP AT MONTEZUMA AVENUE HAS BEEN INSTALLED ALONG WITH RED FLASHING WARNING SIGNS. IN ADDITION, SEPARATE TURN LANES ON MONTEZUMA AVENUE HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED TO REDUCE BLIND SPOTS. THE CHANGES WERE MADE AFTER THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RECOMMENDED IN 2017 THAT THE TRAFFIC FLOW AT THE BUSY INTERSECTION BE MODIFIED TO INCREASE SAFETY. LAST YEAR, THE CITY OF CORTEZ COMMISSIONED A TRAFFIC STUDY TO DETERMINE WHETHER A ROUND-ABOUT, A FOUR-WAY STOP OR A TRAFFIC LIGHT SHOULD BE INSTALLED, AND THE STUDY RECOMMENDED THE FOUR-WAY STOP.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY AS WELL AS VEHICLES IN THAT AREA. AND SO WE WERE PLANNING TO, TO MAKE IT A FOUR-WAY STOP. WE WANTED TO EVALUATE OTHER OPTIONS, AND THAT'S WHAT THIS CONSULTANT DID FOR US. AND THEY CAME BACK AND RECOMMENDED WHAT WE WERE PLANNING TO DO. AND THAT IS TO HAVE A FOUR-WAY, CONTROLLED STOP AND ELIMINATE THE RIGHT- AND LEFT-HAND TURN LANES. SO IT'S GOING TO BE CONFIGURED PERMANENTLY NEXT YEAR, POTENTIALLY THE NEXT YEAR WHERE WE'LL EXTEND THE MEDIAN, OKAY, WHERE THE TURN LANE IS THE LEFT-HAND TURN LANE ON BOTH SIDES TO JUST PROJECTD OUT, PUT IN CURB AND GUTTER AND MAKE A TRADITIONAL FOUR-WAY STOP JUST LIKE WHAT IS DOWN AT EMPIRE AND MILDRED.PRIOR TO THE INSTALLATION OF THE FOUR-WAY STOP, SIX ACCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED AT THE INTERSECTION, INCLUDING A HIT-AND-RUN ACCIDENT IN JANUARY THAT LEFT A PEDESTRIAN SERIOUSLY INJURED. TO LEARN MORE, VISIT CITY OF CORTEZ DOT COM, AND SEARCH FOR MILDRED TRAFFIC ASSESSEMENT.THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS EDITION OF LOCAL NEWS NETWORK. IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THIS STORY AGAIN, VISIT OUR WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN SIGN UP TO HAVE US DELIVER YOUR NEWS DIRECTLY INTO YOUR INBOX. I'M WEN