Avon’s bid to improve pedestrian safety on Highway 6 takes a critical step forward
Town Council approves four pedestrian crossings and a stoplight along two-mile stretch
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Avon’s 10-year-long project to make U.S. Highway 6 safer for pedestrians is heading toward a conclusion — on the decision-making front, at least.
The Town Council agreed on a project design that includes a new stoplight and four pedestrian crossings during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
Dangerous history of Avon’s Highway 6 corridor
The 2-mile stretch of Highway 6 between West Beaver Creek Boulevard and Post Boulevard, surrounded on both sides by housing, bus stops, the Eagle Valley Trail, Beaver Creek’s elk lot and entry to the central area of Avon, is known for being unsafe for pedestrians.
In March, a 76-year-old Pennsylvania man was killed in a hit-and-run while walking along Highway 6 in between River Oaks Apartments and the EagleVail Shop & Hop.
The challenge is that to put in a pedestrian crossing, the speed limit on U.S. Highway 6 must be 35 miles per hour or below. The current speed limit on that stretch of Highway 6 is 45 miles per hour. However, Colorado Department of Transportation policy will not allow for the artificial lowering of the speed limit; rather, to lower the speed limit, a traffic study has to be conducted showing that 80% of cars are driving at a different speed for officials to change the speed limit.
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When Avon first took on the project, the proposal was to put in a roundabout at the intersection of Stonebridge Drive and Highway 6. Ultimately, after the town put $500,000 into the roundabout’s design, the Colorado Department of Transportation decided there was not enough space in the intersection for a roundabout, and Avon was sent back to the drawing board.
Avon’s more recent solution to the problem was to put in a stoplight at the intersection of Stonebridge Drive and Highway 6. As cars would need to come to a stop periodically on that roadway, the speed limit could be reduced enough to put in pedestrian crossings. The project has seen some pushback from those living nearby, as it would likely impact their ability to exit onto Highway 6, and would require the town to move the Whitewater Condominiums driveway.
From west to east, Avon is looking to put in lighted pedestrian crossings at River Edge Apartments, Eagle Bend Apartments, Stonebridge Drive, and Mountain Stream Condos. Each of these areas connects to bus stops and housing, and pedestrians’ main option is to dart across the road if they need to get to the other side.
The plan, which is at around 30% design now, will also include crosswalks, overhead lighting, medians, curbs, culverts and stormwater drain vaults to collect water from the roads and filter it before releasing it into the Eagle River. The medians are designed to make drivers feel like they are in an urban environment and force them to slow down.
CDOT provides financial, physical accommodations to project
The most recent iteration of the design Avon brought to the Colorado Department of Transportation did not initially include the culverts and storm water drain vaults. However, Eva Wilson, Avon public works director, said CDOT told her that curb cuts on Highway 6 “pose safety and maintenance headaches,” due to ice buildup in the winter, and so the agency will require that the project include curb inlets and culverts.
Right now, there are little to no interventions to improve water quality going from the roads into the river.
“We get a lot of freeze-melt cycles,” said Eric Heil, Avon town manager. “I know it’s more expensive, it’s probably the right thing to do. We don’t want to have icy patches on the highway.”
The addition of the culverts and stormwater vaults increases the project’s construction costs by $1.5 million, and design costs by $250,000.
Due to the increased cost, CDOT offered Avon the opportunity to save by eliminating the $550,000 traffic light from the design, which the agency had previously required as a traffic calming measure ahead of the pedestrian crossings. The agency also eliminated its standard construction, engineering and inspections fee of 26% of the project cost, which would have come out to just over $1 million for this project.
“CDOT is really trying to work with us,” Wilson said.
Avon Town Council carefully considers pros and cons of traffic light
Wilson brought the decision of whether the traffic light was necessary to the council.
“Does removing the traffic signal affect the safety of crossing the road?” asked Council member R.J. Andrade.
Wilson said it would not, as with CDOT’s concession, the town would still be able to put in the pedestrian crossings.
Anecdotally, however, many others took exception to this.
“Slowing down the highway to 35 miles an hour, that’s a big safety improvement. Putting in these pedestrian crossings, that’s a big safety improvement. A stoplight where the traffic stops and then you walk across, that’s probably safer,” Heil said.
“There’s a value to the difference between a crosswalk light and an actual traffic light. I think drivers take a traffic light a little more seriously, if you will, and they’re a little more prepared than (at) what I perceive as crosswalk lights,” said Avon Mayor Amy Phillips.
“I just don’t want to lose sight of why this project started in the first place, was to make it as safe as possible, and that would have to have a light there, in my opinion,” Andrade said.
Tamra Underwood, Avon mayor pro tem, asked about how the neighbors in River Oaks Apartments, River Forge Townhouses and Whitewater Condominiums have been reacting to the traffic signal proposal.
Four members of the public voiced their opinions during the meeting on the proposed safety improvements. Of the four, three live in River Forge, none of whom were in favor of the stoplight.
Michael Pascal, a River Forge resident of 20 years and president of the homeowners’ association, expressed personal opposition to the stoplight.
“With respect to River Forge, we’re probably split in our community whether we want the traffic light or not. Our biggest concern was not having right in and right out,” he said.
Council member Chico Thuon urged the council and town staff to act with haste to move forward with the project.
“We asked the question: How much is a life worth?” Thuon said. “Well, it’s definitely worth an extra 500 Gs for a traffic light, and if we’re going to do this project, let’s do it correctly now and not add onto it two or three years down the road, when it costs another $2 million bucks to add a traffic light.”
Thuon apologized to the River Forge residents but assessed their objections as due to “probably somewhat of an inconvenience factor, versus making it more risky or dangerous.”
While Underwood, and fellow Council members Rich Carroll and Lindsay Hardy expressed uncertainty about the traffic light, they all spoke in favor of choosing the safest option for pedestrians. Ultimately, all seven members of the council voted in favor of the stoplight.
Paying for the project
The estimated total cost of the project is $5.65 million, leaving Avon with an anticipated shortfall of $3.15 million, as the town already has received $3.5 million in state grants to fund the project.
Avon has already spent $700,000 on project design, with half a million going to the roundabout design that CDOT did not approve.
“Had this gone more quickly and we could’ve done this about six years ago, it would have been probably a third the cost of what we’re looking at today,” Heil said. “Time is not on our side with this.”
The town has approached Eagle County with a proposal to split the cost, as two of the crossings — and the entire town of Avon — are in unincorporated Eagle County. “We pay all those taxes, just like everybody else,” Underwood said.
Carroll also asked about the town approaching Vail Resorts for funding, as River Edge Apartments are Vail Resorts employee housing. Wilson said that Vail Resorts will donate their right of way for the crossing at River Edge but has not offered to contribute financially.
