Parker – The sight still burns in Debbie Lewis’ mind, even after four years.
As she was walking to dinner at The Warhorse Inn in Parker on a late afternoon in the summertime, her eyes cast on three boys crossing Mainstreet from an ice cream shop.
Tires screeched. A child spun from his skateboard to the gray pavement. A shocked, apologetic driver sprang from the sedan.
As the little boy climbed to his feet, scuffed and surprised, everyone felt weak from relief.
“A split second would have made all the difference in the world,” said Lewis, a town councilwoman and Mainstreet shop owner for more than a decade.
The incident is part of a continuing trend of close calls that fast-growing Parker wants to eliminate. Like nearby Castle Rock, the town is wrestling with how to manage auto and pedestrian traffic.
It’s become such a concern that Parker is cracking down on jaywalkers and neglectful drivers in downtown, stepping up patrols and taking a zero tolerance for those who ignore safety, whether on foot or behind the wheel.
Without more aggressive measures, a tragedy is bound to occur, town officials say.
Castle Rock hired a “walkability” expert last year to help the town make a little stroll a little safer. Its council will discuss what to do next at a meeting tonight.
In Parker, Marjorie Graves adjusted her coat as a blue SUV breezed past as she waited at a crosswalk outside Parker Station on Mainstreet on Friday morning.
“You better watch for the cars, because they won’t watch for you,” said Graves, a retired teacher.
Parker’s Mainstreet was a dirt road just 25 years ago, and now it serves as a shopping and commuter thoroughfare for many of the town’s 40,000 residents.
Lewis’ concern is fueled by the number of children who visit downtown during the summer. O’Brien Park is becoming a popular place for children and families, a water park is nearby, and children cross Mainstreet, sometimes haphazardly, to visit the ice cream shop and popular fast-food restaurants.
“If we don’t do something now, it’s just a matter of time until something horrible happens,” Lewis said.
Parker has declared Mainstreet a “safety sensitive” zone, which means traffic fines are doubled. Fines for failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk, a state law, for example, could result in a $178 fine and four points off a driver’s license.
“We hope we don’t have to write a single ticket,” said David King, patrol captain for the Parker Police. “The goal is to make people more aware and, hopefully, prevent a tragic accident.”
Castle Rock officials also are worried about the safety of children and shoppers downtown. The Town Council plans to discuss crosswalks and other provisions at its meeting tonight.
“We began trying new ways of making it easier for pedestrians walking in downtown last year, but we’re still considering additional options,” said Castle Rock spokeswoman Carrie McCausland.
Those options include an expert to help the town as it tries to be more pedestrian friendly.
“We often walk to and from meetings ourselves and know how important a walkable community is,” McCausland said.
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-820-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.
