Status

The City of Durango hosted a neighborhood meeting on May 22, from 5:30-7:00p.m. at the Durango Community Recreation Center, 2700 Main Avenue. This meeting was a follow-up to the neighborhood meeting hosted by the City on November 1, 2023. The meeting included staff from multiple departments who discussed the near-term improvements that have been made and gathered feedback from the neighborhood about mid-term improvements they would like to see. There was a presentation at the beginning of the meeting (which is linked in the Document library on the lower right of this page).

About the Project

This project is to implement near-term and mid-term improvements to Animas View Drive prior to a long-term capital improvement project being constructed. Recent neighborhood concerns regarding safety for pedestrians and cyclists along Animas View Drive have brought multiple city departments together to investigate and implement quick strategies. There have been multiple injury crashes along the street including a pedestrian fatality in 2023, which make this initiative a high priority for the City.

Animas View Drive used to be a highway, but over the years has evolved into a residential street with rural characteristics and no dedicated space for pedestrians and cyclists. The existing conditions include several driveways, 2-lanes, minimal shoulder with ditches, no sidewalks or bike lanes, and no parking lanes. The speed limit was reduced by City Council to 25-mph from 35-mph in 2021 in response to neighborhood requests. While this led to an initial reduction in speeds, speeds have gone back up with the 85th percentile speed being 36-mph. To reduce speeds without constant enforcement requires design changes to the street to force drivers to slow down.

To assist with the City's efforts, city staff involved traffic engineers from Toole Design to evaluate the near-term and mid-term improvements that came from the November 1, 2023 neighborhood meeting. Toole Design's evaluation and recommendations can be found here.

The City will continue to implement identified near-term improvements and are engaging the neighborhood and community for direction on mid-term improvements.