Improvements Made To Intersection Where Pregnant Woman Was Hit
DENVER (CBS) - Despite pleas for drivers to beware, safety remains a concern at a Stapleton intersection where a pregnant woman was run over.
Laurie Gorham lost her baby in an accident in early December. It happened at the intersection of 29th and Central Park Boulevard.
The hit and run driver has yet to be arrested.
Now safety improvements are underway at the intersection. Police and the city are trying to make sure a similar accident doesn't happen again. Neighbors hoped memorials on the intersection's stop sign would serve as a reminder for drivers.
"Even with the memorials there, I see cars going through without stopping," Stapleton Resident Judy Bulow said.
Denver Public Works is hoping that even more effort will make a change. Signs that warn drivers they will encounter a stop sign ahead are now in place. The original stop signs have been replaced with bigger ones. They are now six inches larger. The stop signs also have the highest reflective material available.
"I think it's a great idea for them to enhance all the stop signs and stuff because people don't really notice at night time because it's really dark back there," Justine Taylor, 17, said.
The city has also brightened the street lights in the intersection. The wattage was increased from 175 to 250. The crosswalks are in the process of being repainted as well.
But even with the changes, CBS4 still noticed problems at the intersection. We saw an officer ticket one driver for blowing through the stop sign. We saw another driver just tap his brakes before continuing through the intersection. Minutes later, an officer stopped another driver and gave him a warning for rolling through the intersection and not coming to a complete stop.
"I would like to believe that it will help, but I'm not sure it will," Bulow said.
Denver Public Works spent between $3,000 and $5,000 to make the changes. Traffic engineers are also in the process of looking at ways to redesign the intersection.
