Aurora intersection to get stop signs after resident concerns

Aurora and Arapahoe County officials have promised to add interim safety measures to an intersection in their shared jurisdiction after a resident brought a history of safety issues at the intersection to light.

Jason Cline, who owns AnderLoch Fitness and Nutrition operated at Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, has seen at least two crashes every month at the intersection of Quincy Avenue and Harvest Road as he goes to and from work.

Cline started a petition on April 18, calling on Arapahoe County and the city of Aurora to fix the issue.

Two of the crashes have involved Cline's clients, who were injured and had their vehicles totaled, Cline wrote in the petition. 

Currently, the intersection is a one-way stop and the speed limit on Quincy is 45 mph, he said. Oftentimes, given the location of Quincy in a rural area, people are speeding. 

According to city of Aurora spokesperson Michael Brannen, there is an established intergovernmental agreement giving the county responsibility for Quincy Avenue from Gun Club Road to Monaghan Road, but the city and county are working together to improve the intersection.

Just north of the intersection, Waste Management Recycling Center has submitted development plans to construct a north leg of the intersection, Brannen said, making them partially responsible for improvements in the spot as well.

The improvements will include left turn lanes along Quincy Avenue and a traffic signal, but the timeline on when those will be put into place is not yet known and will depend on utility relocations, lead times for traffic signal equipment and the time it takes to get a power source from Xcel Energy, Brannen said. 

Cline said he went back and forth with the city and county — who share jurisdiction over the area — for more than a month to get the issue solved before connecting with a county representative, who shared the plans for the intersection's future.

However, Cline wanted something done in the interim, saying the possibility to have the intersection dealt with in 2025 was too far out with the number of crashes happening.

"After talking with several people who live in the communities just south of the intersection, there was this consensus of yes, we probably need to look at a petition and have enough of a voice of concern to go back to the county and say 'we understand that this is going to be solved at some point in the future, but we're asking for it to be done sooner rather than later'," Cline said.

Before the petition, which collected 103 signatures in one week, could be presented to any governing body, the city and county confirmed that they will add an additional stop sign for both eastbound and westbound traffic on Quincy Avenue by early May. 

Cline said he requested that the stop signs have flashers since the area is rural and people tend to speed.

"I'm cautiously optimistic that it will get done," Cline said. "I kept the petition open just in the chance that they do drag their feet or it doesn't happen."

Brannen confirmed this plan, saying the county is leading the effort and plans to complete the work in May or June.

"We understand the importance of increasing traffic safety at this intersection and working to address the concerns of the public," Brannen said.