Local governments in support of reducing speed at Cement Creek

Several close calls…

The Board of County Commissioners, the town council of Crested Butte and the town council of Mt. Crested Butte all approved a letter Tuesday to be sent to the Colorado Department of Transportation in support of lowering the speed limit at the intersection of Highway 135 and Cement Creek Road from 55 mph to 45 mph.

The concern, according to the letter drafted by the Rural Transportation Authority, is the safety of pedestrians getting on and off the RTA bus that stops at the intersection. The bus takes commuters and visitors between Gunnison and Crested Butte.
The letter states, “there is neither a crosswalk, nor good lighting for vehicle operators to see pedestrians at night. The safety concerns of this situation are compounded during the busy winter season when the sun sets prior to the evening commute.”
The letter sited “several close calls where pedestrians have narrowly missed being hit by vehicles on the highway after getting off of RTA vehicles.”
The solution proposed to CDOT, with the support of the city of Gunnison, the towns of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte and the Crested Butte South Homeowner’s Association, is a lowering of the speed limit to 45 mph on both sides of the intersection, creating a defined crosswalk for pedestrians and adding lights and flashing pedestrian signs.
One option for funding the added safety measures, which is preferred by the county, is through the CDOT safety funding program and the commissioners invited the department’s resident engineer to visit the site and discuss other ways to improve safety at the intersection.