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ARVADA, Colo — It didn't take CDOT very long to repair a malfunctioning walk signal after Contact 7 started asking questions.
Arvada resident Cindy Ohlin, who uses a wheelchair, reached out to Contact 7, after her requests to get the signal repaired, went no where.
Ohlin said the activation button on the southeast corner at 72nd & Wadsworth failed to trip the signal to "walk."
"I pushed it many times," she said. "The first week I pushed it, I thought maybe I hadn't pushed it hard enough, so the next week, I then tried it again, and I pushed, pushed, pushed, and nothing."
Ohlin said she uses that crosswalk to get to and from church, and that the button on the southeast corner hadn't worked for six weeks.
Ohlin told Contact 7 she crosses when the "traffic" light turns green, even though the pedestrian signal says, "don't walk."
"I just cross my fingers and hope that people see me," she said.
Ohlin said she doesn't use the crosswalk on the north side of the intersection because the activation button is on a light pole that is too far from the wheelchair ramp.
Late Monday afternoon, CDOT forwarded an email from the Region 1 Deputy Director of Traffic & Safety, Angie Drumm, to Contact 7 saying, "Crews went out this morning and fixed the ped button that was not working. Additionally, they are installing ped button extenders as a short term answer solution to not being able to reach the button. We are ordering the separate pedestrian button pedestals (poles) and will install as the permanent solution."
