Denver, CO
Push to ban all right turns on red across Denver after deadly year for pedestrians and cyclists
DENVER — There’s a push to ban all right turns on red across the city of Denver after the state came off its deadliest year on the road for pedestrians and cyclists.
According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, 133 pedestrians and 20 cyclists died in 2023 on the state’s roadways.
June Churchill has been car-free for six years.
“I looked around at the city and I was like, ‘Wow, it’s really dangerous to bike here,’” said Churchill.
Finding a safe space to ride on Denver city streets has been a daily battle for Churchill.
“There have been so many times when I’ve been cut off by car, or almost gotten T-boned,” said Churchill.
Churchill said a lot of the trouble stems from drivers turning right on red, blocking crosswalks and not paying attention to pedestrians.
“Cars don’t care they will take that right turn until everyone is done,” said Churchill.
Now, there’s a renewed push to ban all right turns on red across Denver.
It’s something the group, Denver Streets Partnership, has been lobbying for for half a decade.
“Ultimately, we need to redesign our streets to provide more space for people walking and biking and to reinforce slower, safer speeds. But we know that’s going to take a lot of time and money,” said Jill Locantore, executive director of Denver Streets Partnership.
Locantore said policies that prioritize pedestrian safety are a cheaper route.
Push to ban all right turns on red across Denver after deadly year for pedestrians and cyclists
“Just changing the law doesn’t mean that people will change their behavior overnight,” Locantore explained. Her coalition is urging the city to focus on dangerous intersections first, like Federal Blvd. and Colfax Ave.
While pedestrian fatalities hit an all-time high in 2023 statewide, the city of Denver reported its own alarming data.
According to the Denver Police Department’s crash dashboard, 32 pedestrians were killed on city streets last year. That’s up 113% from a decade prior.
Advocates for the change hope Denver follows in the footsteps of cities like New York City and Seattle that have already made the change.
“We believe we have a moral obligation to take these steps; do what we can to make our streets safer for everybody,” said Locantore.
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Denver, CO
Pedestrian fatally hit by Frontier airplane departing Denver for Los Angeles, flight canceled after
Posted:
Updated:
DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.
The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,” the airport’s official X account wrote.
Neither the airport nor the airline has disclosed the pedestrian’s condition.
“We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that and “individual was walking across the runway.”
The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.
“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”
Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal.
Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted.
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