PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — Pueblo has the highest per capita rate of fatal car crashes among Colorado's largest cities, according to the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan report from the city.
The Director of Public Works for the City of Pueblo, Andrew Hayes, says the action report will help address the dangerous intersections and roadways that lead to fatal and serious car crashes.
The report shows Pueblo averaged nearly 18 fatal and serious injury crashes per 100,000 people over a six-year period, (2018-2023). This is the highest rate per capita among the state's biggest cities.
"We have intersections that may be getting more crashes than they should be for the type of intersection they are or for the volume of traffic that's there," said Hayes.
The new public works plan identifies the top 60 intersections across Pueblo that need improvements to reduce car crashes.
"This really helps us prioritize and narrow down the intersection where we can see the greatest effect for those dollars," said Hayes.
Hayes says safety improvements will start with small changes, including the following:
- improving pedestrian safety
- installing better lighting in intersections
- adding guardrails
- removing hazards
"Even small things like removing landscaping from in front of signs or getting better lines of vision at intersections, just turn lanes or some re-striping or changing signals a little bit," said Hayes.
For more dangerous intersections, the city is considering roundabouts as a solution.
"Just inherently, roundabouts do have a different kind of crash profile when crashes occur," said Hayes.
The city report shows that when a two-way stop intersection changes to a roundabout, crashes decrease by 82%. The report also indicates roundabouts have fewer crashes than intersections with traffic signals.
"This doesn't mean that we're going to go around and change out all our intersections for roundabouts. But where we do have opportunities to increase safety, that might be one of the options we look at. And there are several that are already planned and in the works that will be coming to the city over the next couple of years," said Hayes.
Big projects like roundabouts can cost significant money. Hayes says the city will apply for federal and state grants to pay for the projects that could make driving around Pueblo much safer.
To read the full report and learn more about intersection safety, visit the City of Pueblo's City of Pueblo's website.
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