Boulder has enabled a green arrow for one of the left turns at 30th and Colorado during afternoon hours, but for now will keep flashing yellow arrows at the remaining turn lanes in the intersection.

As of Aug. 27, drivers making a left turn onto southbound 30th Street from westbound Colorado Avenue will have a dedicated green left-turn arrow between 3 and 7 p.m. on weekdays. A green arrow means cars turning left will have the right-of-way, with pedestrians and oncoming traffic both stopped.

Boulder Public Works spokeswoman Meghan Wilson said the city analyzed the intersection and noticed that particular turn was causing delays and backing up traffic on Colorado Avenue during the afternoon hours.

"Left turns are provided at locations and times when there is a safety concern or significant delay issue associated with a left-turn movement," Wilson said. "Staff has not identified a safety issue for any of the four left-turn movements at this intersection. However, left-turn delays have been increasing during peak periods, and transportation staff has determined that the overall intersection operation could be improved by providing this green arrow during the p.m. peak."

The remaining left turns at the intersection will continue to have only flashing yellow arrows, which require drivers to yield to pedestrians or oncoming traffic.

But Wilson added that because the city in 2017 installed the new flashing arrow lights, rather than the solid green left-turn signals, staff has the ability to easily change the flashing yellow arrows to solid green should they change their minds.

"Staff will continue to monitor the intersection to see if there's a reason to have a green left-turn signal for other turning movements or at different times of day," Wilson said. "But so far they have not determined that there's an issue that would require a green left-turn for the other turns."

The intersection of 30th and Colorado has been a much-discussed transportation issue for the city in recent years. The intersection lies between the University of Colorado's main and east campuses and students and faculty commute for home and work in the area, many of them on foot or on bicycle.

Construction on an underpass that would run diagonally across the intersection is expected to start in 2019.

But until then, the city will monitor the data from the intersection.

Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars

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