Just 1 percent of all the traffic crashes that happened in Cortez during the five-year period from 2018 through 2022 involved fatalities. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that when crashes involved pedestrians, 27 percent were fatal and 45 percent resulted in serious injuries.
Such statistics were presented to the public Wednesday at an open house regarding traffic safety in Cortez. The city is seeking feedback about traffic problems and options for reducing them.
The Albuquerque engineering firm gathering the data, Bohannan Huston, Inc., will eventually produce the Cortez Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, with the goal of providing a roadmap “to achieve zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries in Cortez for all modes of transportation, including walking, biking, and driving,” according to online information.
The project is led by the City of Cortez and Cortez Police Department and funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Safe Streets for All program.
About two dozen people came to the open house and gave their views on problem areas and different options for improving safety. Those options included speed bumps, curb extensions or bulb-outs, bike lanes, roundabouts and more.
Comments are also being taken online via a survey and an interactive map.
Transportation planner Clare Haley of Bohannan Huston told KSJD that though all the feedback has not been processed yet, pedestrian and bicycle safety around the city, as well as traffic issues on Main Street, have been common concerns so far.
The fact that crashes involving pedestrians tend to be more serious is definitely the case nationwide, Haley said. The same is true for crashes involving motorcycles or bicycles. All of those users are more vulnerable than people encased in cars or trucks.
Three pedestrians and two motorcyclists were killed in Cortez from 2018 through 2022, according to the data. No cyclists were killed in crashes.
Some key points from the 2018-22 statistics – which came from police reports, which are sent to the Colorado Department of Transportation – include:
· 80 percent of KSI (killed or seriously injured) crashes in Cortez occurred on state highways, while 20 percent occurred on city streets;
· 64 percent of all crashes in Cortez took place on state highways, 36 percent on city streets;
· 76 percent of all crashes in Cortez involved only property damage, 1 percent fatalities, 4 percent serious injuries, and 19 percent other injuries;
· 56 percent of KSI crashes occurred at intersections, 16 percent in driveways, and 28 percent on streets but not intersections;
· 27 percent of the total of 11 pedestrian-involved crashes were fatal, 45 percent involved serious injuries, 18 percent other injuries, and 9 percent property damage only;
· 83 percent of the 6 crashes involving bicycles resulted in non-serious injuries, 17 percent in property damage only.
· 29 percent of the 7 crashes involving motorcycles resulted in fatalities, 29 percent serious injuries, 29 percent other injuries, and 19 percent property damage only.
The online survey, which has been up for more than a month, will be closed within a week or so, Haley said. After that, planners will process the information and narrow down locations to focus on. Haley said the resulting list of locations needing improvements can be used to apply for federal grant monies.
“A lot of cities are going through this process right now because there has been a lot of federal money for safety available recently,” she said.
McKinley County and Doña Ana County in New Mexico are both developing action plans through Bohannan Huston, Haley said, while the City of Durango in Colorado is going through a similar process with a different firm.
Durango recently announced that it is installing orange reflective flags for pedestrians to carry at the crosswalk at 19th Street and North Main to draw the attention of motorists, many of whom aren’t yielding to the walkers.
Bohannan Huston will produce the first draft of Cortez’s safety action plan around February. The plan will be open for more comments, so the public will have another chance to weigh in, Haley said.
What the City of Cortez can do is limited, of course, by the fact that it doesn’t have jurisdiction over Main Street, which is a state highway.
Funds will affect what options can be utilized in other locations. Haley said some of the cheapest options involve using paint – striping roadways and adding crosswalks or other markings. Four-way stops are also low-cost, as well as spot improvements such as pedestrian islands.
Establishing something as major as a roundabout would be much more expensive. There have been comments that one is needed at Mildred Avenue and Empire Street.
To share your opinions and concerns about traffic safety in Cortez, go to www.cortezsafestreets.com. Even after the survey is closed, you can email comments to CortezSafeStreets@bhinc.com.
