Valerie from Centennial writes, “What’s driving you crazy? Hi, I saw your article about the right turn on red arrow at 8th and Zuni. Was wondering about the same thing at the intersection of Arapahoe Rd and Colorado Blvd. It’s a terrifying intersection without signage for drivers. Yesterday when we waited at the red arrows, the car behind us honked relentlessly. When we finally turned, the driver behind us pulled up next to us and taunted us with his road rage. The problem seems to be most drivers think they can turn right on the red arrow. The city of centennial is setting both children and drivers up for a catastrophe.”
It doesn’t matter if you are in downtown Denver, the suburbs or anywhere in the state, as I reported in that previous story, Colorado law states when you see a red turn arrow, you are supposed to stop. You treat red turn arrows the same way as you would any red light or stop sign. While it is uncomfortable to listen to honking or experience aggressive behavior from drivers who don’t know you are doing the right thing, you don’t need to let them pressure you into doing the wrong thing.
What I saw when I went out to Arapahoe Road and Colorado Boulevard is that the red arrow for the eastbound to southbound turn came on when a pedestrian activated the crosswalk. As soon as the walk sign came on, the red turn arrow illuminated. When the crosswalk cycle was complete, the yellow flashing arrow came on. It is the same for the right turn from northbound Colorado to eastbound Arapahoe Road —a red arrow when the crosswalk was activated, otherwise, a yellow arrow.
When I talked to the engineering department with the City of Centennial, I was told the prohibitive right was designed to increase pedestrian safety.
“Even though drivers are required to yield to pedestrians who are crossing, unfortunately often do not do so. Also, because this is a very busy school zone area for Newton Middle School and of course for general enhanced pedestrian safety,” the City of Centennial's engineering department said.
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What I saw most of the time was the yellow turn arrow indicating that you are allowed to turn right but are supposed to be cautious and watch out and stop for other drivers or people who might be in the crosswalk. At times I saw a green arrow for the eastbound to southbound right turn movement. The city said that green arrow also provides an additional opportunity for right turning drivers to flow through without conflict.
I watched as most drivers handled that yellow arrow by slowing down to a roll and then continuing through the turn. What was disturbing was when the red arrow was illuminated, more often than not, I watched drivers do the same slow roll through the turn. Only a few times did a driver stop for the red arrow and wait for it to turn yellow or green.
“It is illegal to turn right on a red arrow,” Sergeant Jeremiah Gates with Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Safety Unit told me. “If it is just a red ball light then they can turn right but a red arrow is specific, and it is illegal to turn right. It is the same as running a red light.”
When I was watching traffic flow, I saw drivers more often running the red arrow going from northbound Colorado Boulevard to eastbound Arapahoe Road. I asked if the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office would step enforcement here. I was told, “It’s tough to work in the winter because there is no place to sit in a car. In the warmer months, it's simple because they can sit on the sidewalk on their motorcycles.”
The City of Centennial has been installing these flashing yellow right turn arrows around the city for the past 18 months and told, me they will continue to do so as the opportunity arises.
“Our hope is that over time as this becomes more and more widespread that drivers will continue to learn to associate the presence of a red arrow for a left or a right turn with an associated potential direct conflict and safety concern,” the City of Centennial said.
I also asked if the city would put up specific signage reminding drivers to treat a red turn arrow like a stop light.
I was told, “Much like licensed drivers are expected to know how to behave relative to Stop signs, speed limit postings, dark traffic signals, and other standard roadway conditions and controls, they should also know how to behave relative to standard traffic signal indications of various colors and types (arrow or ball). We do not install additional signage for these conditions.”
Sergeant Gates added that if anyone encounters a road rage situation like Valerie did, they should be calm and not do anything that would escalate the situation. He said remember the license plate number and call law enforcement to report the interaction. He said if you are stopped for running the red arrow light, the citation is four points and carries a $125 fine.
On a side note, in June 2021, Centennial adopted the Colorado Boulevard Multimodal Corridor Study that will change the way traffic flows along Colorado Boulevard between Orchard and County Line Roads. The study’s recommendation is to ‘right size’ this section of Colorado Boulevard to one lane in each direction while adding a center turn lane. The remaining roadway space will be repurposed for multi-use paths. The city tells me the one-mile stretch south of Arapahoe Road is right now in the design phase.
Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 25 years.) He's obsessed with letting viewers know what's happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or listen to his award winning Driving You Crazy podcast on any podcast app including iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podbean, or YouTube.
