Castle Rock’s population skyrocketed from about 20,000 in 2000 to 48,000 in 2010, according to . And, with such explosive growth, itap no surprise that traffic has become an issue in town.
Thirteen-year resident Jolene Saiz said she used to drive up Perry or Wilcox streets to get from her home on the south side of town to the north side because it meant she got to “enjoy that I live in a somewhat small town” but because of traffic she almost always uses the highway now.
Including the interchange with Interstate 25 that opened in October, Castle Rock has tackled a number of projects aimed at busting gridlock in recent years. Soon, the town will activate a high-tech tool officials hope will lessen rush-hour backups on another busy I-25 on-ramp.
Testing was taking place this week on what officials are calling an “active traffic management” system. Using electronic signs in three places around the on-ramp onto northbound I-25 from westbound Plum Creek Parkway, the system will change lane designations at certain times of day to improve the flow of cars onto the highway, officials say.
“In the morning, a lot of people are going to I-25 and good chunk of those folks are going north toward the Denver metro area,” said , the town’s transportation planning and traffic engineering manager. “This creates a heavy imbalance in traffic.”
There are three westbound lanes on Plum Creek that travel under I-25: A left turn lane that accesses the on-ramp for southbound I-25, a center through lane and a right through lane with the option to turn right onto northbound I-25.
Germeroth said this alignment leads to heavy backups in the right lane during morning rush hour when cars waiting to get on the highway can stack up past South Perry Street at times. Traffic counts show that around 1,000 cars per hour make the right turn onto northbound I-25 during peak morning traffic times.
At those times — roughly between 4 and 9 a.m. — the active traffic management system signs will light up with arrows dictating different lane designations. The rightmost lane will turn into a right turn only lane and the center through lane into a right turn or through lane.
“The idea was to get a double turn lane onto I-25. Our hope is that this is going to be able to handle the traffic congestion for the immediate future,” Germeroth said. “We could still widen (Plum Creek Parkway) but that is a much more expensive proposition.”
The town held an open house in October to help residents get acquainted with the system and how it will work. It cost about $200,000 in town transportation funds, Germeroth said. One set of signs has been installed on a mast arm over westbound Plum Creek Parkway, parallel with the Walgreens store. Another is hanging on the existing traffic light arm just before the highway, and a final set is on northbound Wilcox just before Plum Creek so drivers turning left onto the road know whatap ahead. It could be activated in the next few weeks barring setbacks, Germeroth said.
The uses active traffic management systems on portions of and , spokeswoman Amy Ford said. Those are designed to provide real-time information on road conditions ahead — whether it’s an accident shutting down a lane or decreased speeds due to traffic — to improve safety, she said.
“I do believe this is first one on a surface street” in the state, Ford said of Castle Rock system, adding that CDOT views active traffic management as an important tool for the future. “We think this kind of signage is a great service.”
Lana Falke lives in Larkspur but goes to church, banks and shops in Castle Rock. She said she has seen active traffic managements systems in other places she’s lived, like San Francisco and Memphis, and she is hopeful it can have a positive impact on Castle Rock’s traffic troubles.
“I think itap a great idea,” she said. “It just has to be well-marked so people understand what the heck is going on.”
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