Lily from Centennial writes, “What's driving you crazy? The left turn lanes on Broadway at Ridge Rd and Costilla Ave. I am always playing 'chicken' at these intersections when those turning left onto Ridge Rd get into the left turn lane for Costilla. I understand those travelling north on Broadway don't want to be blocked by a line of cars turning left in front of them, but it's not safe to get in the opposite turn lane just to let others going your way through. I can't tell you how many times I've narrowly avoided an accident getting into the left turn lane just to get home.”
In years gone by, back-to-back left turn movements like that, Lily, weren’t a problem. Now with so much more traffic due to growth, we are seeing more conflicts like yours. What really hinders the movement of your left turn from southbound Broadway to eastbound Costilla is the traffic that gets stopped behind the northbound Broadway traffic signal at Ridge Road. The left turn holding area for northbounders on Broadway who want to go left onto westbound Ridge Road is very small. It is only able to hold about four vehicles. When more than a few drivers want to make that turn, that lane backs up and then drivers have to choose to either sit in the left through lane of northbound Broadway or, like you say, get into that turn lane on the other side of the street that is supposed to be for southbound traffic to go east to Costilla.
I asked Littleton Transportation Engineering Manager Aaron Heumann what can be done here to either prevent drivers from stopping on the wrong side of the street or to make the turn safer and easier. He told me, this is not the first time they have heard this complaint, as other residents have brought up this concern to them as well.
“Several potential modifications have been discussed over the years from adjusting the length of the left turn bays via restriping, to providing side-by-side left turn lanes, or to eliminating one of the left turn movements,” Heumann said.
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While the conflicting left turns here are not ideal, especially considering the limited space availability between Ridge Road and Costilla Avenue, Heumann said previous observations of how people use the turn lanes as well as the crash history here does not concern them enough to make this location a high priority for immediate safety improvements. There are other more challenging locations as Aaron described them in Littleton.
“However, Littleton and Centennial have been working together on future planning for Broadway, as part of which modifications to address yours (and others) concerns with these left turn movements could be addressed,” Heumann said.
One of the tricky aspects of any potential change to these left turns or in the general way that traffic moves along Broadway is that Broadway represents the border between Littleton and Centennial, so any modifications to the roadway or to operations of the roadway must be agreed upon by several jurisdictions. Both Littleton and Centennial are partnering with the City and County of Denver, Englewood, Arapahoe County and Douglas County to propose significant overall changes to Broadway and transform the way all forms of traffic flows along the corridor. These future modifications would come via the new Broadway Corridor Study that was wrapped up in the summer of 2024. Some of the broader design changes to Broadway between I-25 and Highlands Ranch Parkway include:
Maintaining two travel lanes in each direction but make them narrower than the existing lanes to calm traffic and provide more space for walking, biking and socializing.
- Implementing protected intersections for cyclists.
- Constructing 9-foot sidewalks on both sides of Broadway.
- Installing 7-foot cycle tracks on both sides of Broadway.
- Creating 4- to 6-foot buffer zones to separate traffic from pedestrians and cyclists.
- Introducing intersection transit upgrades to reduce bus delays and lay the groundwork for future bus rapid transit.
When I was looking through the design plans at the specific area on Broadway at Ridge/Costilla, to me, the layout for turns looks nearly identical to what it is now, although the travel lanes are narrowed. A transit area (bus stop) is outlined near Ridge Rd and there are modifications to the High Line Canal Trail crossing. That crossing and the safety enhancements to trail crossing at Broadway on the south side of the Ridge Road intersection is another major part of this puzzle.
One of the challenges traffic engineers are dealing with is that a pedestrian tunnel constructed under Broadway is apparently not a viable option at this point. The Broadway Corridor Study Final Report said this crossing location has factors that make grade separation, an underground tunnel option, particularly challenging and costly. Therefore, any changes to the crossing in the short term will be focused on improvements to the existing at-grade crossing rather than creating a new grade separation.
The study ultimately recommends a configuration for this stretch of Broadway with two general-purpose lanes in each direction with a center turn lane/median similar to the way it is now and High Line Trail crossing improvements like clearly marking the intersection with special paving or patterned concrete indicating that this is part of the High Line Canal Trail.
All of these proposed changes could affect not only the flow of traffic in this area but the timing of the traffic signal especially when people cross Broadway. That timing change in turn could hold traffic on Broadway longer than it does currently and that could lead to more of the blockage you experience now.
“City staff recognizes that these future projects don’t address your concerns right now!” Heumann said. “One suggestion we can make, if you are concerned about entering the southbound left lane to turn onto Costilla Avenue at times when the queue of northbound vehicles extends into the southbound turn lane, is to proceed one block further south to the signalized intersection at Easter Avenue. Driving just a little distance out of your way to turn left from an exclusive, signalized turn lane, may be a more comfortable alternative for you to enter the Centennial neighborhood to the east. Then, depending on your destination, either Lincoln Street can be utilized to backtrack the one block to Costilla Avenue or other neighborhood streets further to the east could be used.”
Heumann said city staff will continue to monitor the operations in this area, as well as along Broadway. He added that if you have more specific questions or concerns, you should feel free to reach out to either the Littleton Department of Public Works at 303-795-3863 or to the City of Centennial at 303-325-8000 to discuss this issue or any other transportation concerns in their respective municipalities.
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