Here are copies of letters sent to Teller County Public Works concerning the dangerous intersection of Deer Ridge Trail and Lower Twin Rocks Rd. If you have similar concerns, please reach out to our County Commissioner Dan Williams through the Teller County web site to the BOCC and share your worries.
Mr Fred Clifford
Director, Teller Co Dept of Public Works
2.6.2023
Dear Mr Clifford this correspondence is in regards to the traffic situation on Twin Rocks Road as well as the Twin Rocks Road / Upper Twin Rocks Road intersection, one of the most dangerous in Teller County.
My wife & I built our retirement home at the corner of Twin Rocks & Upper Twin Rocks in 2020 occupying in spring of 2021 and have an unobstructed view of the road & intersection. We’ve lived in Colorado mountain communities for 4 decades from Summit County to Evergreen (36 years) so we’re no strangers to high country living. At issue is the type of traffic allowed on Twin Rocks Rd as it meanders through several residential areas and the Florissant Fossil Beds. Semitrailer trucks with commerce, heavy equipment on low boy, logs, landscape material, food, manufactured homes (to name a few) regularly use this road, both ways, as a short cut from Hiway 24 to Teller County 1 versus catching TC1 in Florissant. As you know this road is windy & narrow in spots making it difficult for these large commercial trucks to negotiate curves and remain in their lane. I, as well as other residents, have had to slow to avoid a collision or pull to the shoulder (when there is one) to dodge these big rigs. This is not a big rig friendly road. Ironically it’s only 2 miles longer to go through Florissant to catch TC1 or Hiway 24, roads intended for use by larger commercial vehicles. This type of traffic is noisy and dangerous with drivers showing a careless disregard for our neighborhood. These large commercial carriers backup traffic several vehicles deep then once they hit a straight away poor sense & impatience return as drivers take dangerous actions to pass these carriers. It’s not IF but WHEN a catastrophic head on collision will occur, why wait for this to happen?
Our community should enjoy the sounds of wildlife throughout the day instead of a serenade of big rig air brakes (aka jake brake) at 6 a.m. and throughout the day into evening hours!! Allowing the use of this road as a shortcut destroys the peace & tranquility of our neighborhood along with the impact on property values.
I spoke to CDOT representative Pepper Whittlef in November 2022 for her insight into this type of problem. Fremont County had a similar situation recently with CDOT assisting by placing an illuminated sign restricting truck traffic on a county road running through a residential neighborhood. Homeowners banded together to submit a formal complaint to County Commissioners which ruled in their favor. The Commissioners & County representatives coordinated with CDOT to have the signs installed which has reduced truck traffic. I believe this approach along with weight limit restrictions and additional signage (NO CUT THRU TRAFFIC, NO AIR BRAKES as examples) would help reduce the unwanted traffic
Secondly the speeding on Twin Rocks is insane as vehicles consistently exceed the posted 40 mph speed limit by 10-30 mph. I know this is the responsibility of TC Sheriff Dept but there has to be a manner in which the roadway can be modified to discourage excessive speeds. We’ve had a discussion with Brad Shaw about rumble bars installed in the roadway. He was very clear that this may be a possibility but their function is to alert drivers to a dangerous condition, not reduce speed, and made us aware of the noise they create. Also we discussed the county installing speed limit signs that flash when the posted speed is exceeded similar to the signs on TC1 at Florissant Fossil Beds. Brad said he was looking in to these but their purchase & installation was dependent on the department’s budget.
Upper Twin Rocks Rd is used as a shortcut to Florissant. Full time homeowners in this area use the road for walking, jogging & exercising pets, to name a few activities, but excessive vehicle speeds make for a life threatening situation to engage in these activities. The 30mph speed limit is too high for this road & should be reduced to 20mph staying consistent with other roads in the area. As well a sign should be posted such as LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC ONLY in effort to keep vehicle traffic on Twin Rocks to TC1 to Florissant. This route is only 2.5 miles longer than the shortcut down upper Twin Rocks.
As a concerned group of property owners / taxpayers we acknowledge and applaud your departments efforts in maintaining safe roadways throughout Teller County but the issues we face need to be addressed. We feel through a coordinated effort amongst citizenry and County representatives we can reach a solution satisfactory to all.
We look forward to your response
Respectfully,
Jim Florea, property owner
Rich Dudley, President Arabian Acres POA
*********************************************************************************************** Mr. Fred Clifford
Director, Teller Co Dept of Public Works
6.1.2023
Hi Fred thank you for taking my call 5.23.2023 & discussing this letter with me.
I’ve prioritized items, per your request, in order of their importance to our community
Twin Rocks Rd
Highway 24 / twin rocks intersection & TC1 / twin rocks intersection signs on both sides of road
No Commercial truck traffic / local deliveries only OR
Commercial truck traffic must access TC1 Southbound @ Florissant OR
CDOT weight limit sign – NO COMMERCIAL TRUCKS OVER 7000# EMPTY WEIGHT
Sign posted on Twin Rocks at the west approach, 50’ before Upper Twin Rocks Rd;
“TRUCK ENGINE BRAKING PROHIBITED by Teller Co Public Works” OR
“TRUCK AIR / JAKE BRAKING PROHIBITED by Teller Co Public Works
Install white PLEASE SLOW DOWN signs below existing speed limit signs
Install LED speed signs with posted speed limit / your speed, both sides of Twin Rocks between Denwood Dr & Trout Haven Rd
Upper Twin Rocks Rd
Reduce the speed to 20mph staying consistent with the speed limit throughout the surrounding area.
Install signs at both ends of Upper Twin Rocks Rd and several along the stretch from TC1 to Twin Rocks Rd NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC ONLY / local deliveries only/ PLEASE SLOW DOWN
Deploy speed test cables along Twin Rocks & Upper Twin Rocks to determine / record vehicle
speeds. As explained you’ll do this in the fall.
Thank you for your time and assistance,
Jim Florea
Richard Dudley POA President Arabian Acres