Hello everyone,
The question I asked everyone when we met in person in 2020 on Lee Hill Drive was this “In the eyes of Boulder County what is the value of a human life?”
I made the decision to show my identity for this interview even though there are aggressive people that are angry with my signs on Lee Hill Drive. Dealing with people in that manner is still nothing compared to losing a life. When we all met last year I said and have reiterated that it wasn’t a matter of “if” but “when someone would lose their life, we are now living with that reality. I wanted to pass the Fox News interview on so Boulder county could have a larger perspective of the daily safety issues that we deal with on Lee Hill Drive. I have also included Michael Dougherty the Boulder County DA since this is a legal matter as well.
The recent tragedy involving Alejandro Acosta a biker and a resident of Carriage Hills in a car on this road illustrates what we all fear up here every time we are on this road. The repercussions from these type of accidents include:
1) The loss of life
2) the impact to all families, friends and the community
3) The potential lawsuits that the defendant faces, possible loss of their home, life savings etc.
We shouldn’t have to be in fear of any of this every time we are on this road either in a vehicle or on a bike when it can be fixed by Boulder County. I am asking once again for Boulder county to fix this road, a few signs and paint are a start but do not address or fix the on-going safety issues. Even these simple updates have not been added to the road from our last meeting in person.
I am also asking for clarification from the county regarding the following statement:
A spokesperson with Boulder County Public Works said they are looking into potential changes, but they won’t come cheap. We’ve already installed signage to alert both drivers and riders of their obligations to be aware of each-others presence and to share the road. We have signs that ask cyclists to ride single-file around curves and those that remind drivers to give cyclists three-feet of room when passing. These are minimal and should be properly spaced along the entire road as reminders for both bikes and vehicles We’re currently analyzing what else can be done to increase safety for everyone on this steep, winding road. While it would be great to make the road wider to provide more room for everyone, that project would be a massive undertaking that would likely cost several million dollars. That’s not to say we aren’t exploring that option, because we are. I have asked for an actual study and budget from the county. As previously discussed I suggested that the blind West and East bound right turns are fixed since they are the most serious safety zones to address. Adding intersection lines (see below) and proper signage along the entire road would also help round out the initial approach. Maybe there is a better way to address this, I just wanted to offer one approach based on living here for over 24 years. The project would be difficult to engineer and costly because we’d need to gather the extra space by removing the steep, rocky hillside on the uphill side of the road. There isn’t much room to work with in many areas on the downhill side. This would require purchasing a lot of land from property owners and then conducting a major excavating operation that would likely require blasting. The project will take years to plan and design and likely a few more to build.” I HAVE TO STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT, NO BLIND RIGHT TURNS ARE ON THE STEEP DOWNHILL SIDE WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT PHASE 1 ADDING A BIKE LANE TO BOTH UP AND DOWN HILL SIDES JUST FIXING THE BLIND RIGHT TURNS EAST AND WESTBOUND. THE COUNTY CAN CONFIRM THE PROPERTY LINES TOUCHED THE ROAD BUT AT LEAST FOR MY DRIVEWAY WHICH IS A SINGLE LANE AND AN EASEMENT THE WIDTH IS 60’ FROM THE CENTER LINE. THE FIX THE BLIND RIGHT HAND TURNS I ESTIMATE 5’-10’ MAX THAT WOULD NEED TO BE ADDED WITH A LENGTH OF 40’ MAX BUT AN AVERAGE OF 20’. MOST AREAS REQUIRE MINIMAL EXCAVATION INTO THE MOUNTAIN SIDE.