Denver Could Put Pause on New Traffic Circles

The Denver Fire Department has asked the city to stop the installation of new traffic circles in the city, citing safety concerns, reports Mark Samuelson in The Denver Gazette. The traffic circles are designed to slow traffic and improve safety as part of the city's Neighborhood Bikeway program, and are a commonly used device in most of the world.

“Neighbors in the area along 7th Avenue noted ongoing tests by fire trucks negotiating the tight turns of the small roundabouts, where residents have reported some crashes that followed their installation this summer,” Samuelson writes.

Denver fire captain J.D. Chism told the Gazette that there is now a ‘moratorium’ on installing new traffic circles, but City transportation spokesperson Nancy Kuhn “would not confirm that her agency is working under a moratorium regarding the devices.” Instead, Kuhn said the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure “will continue to work on refining them, working with DFD.”