Denver Public Schools, Police Team Up To Make Streets Safer
DENVER (CBS4) – A new campaign has been launched in hopes of making Denver's streets safer for both drivers and pedestrians.
Denver police spent several hours on Federal Boulevard between Dartmouth and Iliff avenues on Monday. They say the area is one of the worst for auto accidents, so officers cited both drivers and pedestrians violating traffic rules.
Denver police and Denver Public Schools are teaming up together to try to reduce the number of accidents on that particular stretch of road. Officers say there have been 50 accidents on the road and 10 of those involved a car and pedestrian. Of those 10, two were fatal. All of the rest resulted in serious injuries.
Monday was the first day of full enforcement for police. They were posted on the lookout for drivers speeding, but also those not walking in a crosswalk. Police say in order to reduce the number of those types of incidents pedestrians have to be accountable as well. So Denver Public Schools, which has three schools in the area, joined the effort. They've been sending home notes to parents and speaking with students about the importance of crossing only in the cross walk.
"We want to try to educate those students on this is a very busy street, so if you have to walk a little bit further, walk a little bit further, take the extra time to ensure your safety," Michael Eaton with Denver Public Schools said.
"Unfortunately we get people who are doing things like drinking their morning coffee, putting on makeup, doing all sorts of things on their way to work. So when you combine speed with inattentive driving and pedestrians who are not crossing in the correct manner, and it's a recipe for danger," Denver Police Cmdr. Bill Nagle said.
Both police and school officials admit complicating their efforts is that there are only two cross walks between Dartmouth and Iliff, so for students and people trying to cross it could seem appealing to just cross anywhere. But authorities hope the new effort makes drivers and pedestrians think twice about dangerous behaviors while sharing the roads.
