Tag: what's driving you crazy

LITTLETON, Colo. — Have you ever heard of a Quadrant Road? To put it simply, a quadrant road — or quad road for short — eliminates left turns at the main intersection. In this case, the City of Littleton just broke ground on the first quad road in the western United States at the very busy intersection of S. Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue.

With no left turns, the theory is that traffic flows better as there is more green-light time for through movements. With as many as 60,000 vehicles per day on Santa Fe and 30,000 on Mineral, drivers can experience delays of about 20 minutes during peak times. If the intersection were to remain in the current configuration, delays would become significantly worse given traffic volumes are projected to grow to 115,000 vehicles per day through the intersection by 2040 due to anticipated future development in the region. 

City of Littleton

Engineers said during evening rush hour, the commute time regularly takes well over 10 minutes just to go from Church to Mineral Avenues. When the quad road opens, city engineers believe that same trip should take less than five minutes and the length of the traffic backup at Mineral should decrease by more than 90%.

City of Littleton

Although the quadrant roadway concept is new to Denver, the method has been used in other states with good results. Originally a grade-separated overpass interchange was envisioned here but city leaders decided the quadrant road idea would be a less expensive and better long-term solution.

The project includes new traffic signals, lane configurations and timing adjustments, along with other mobility and safety upgrades in the surrounding area — elements the city believes will make life easier for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users. There will also be hundreds of new residents and many new businesses who will call this area home in the coming years as the adjacent River Park development gets built.

Work on the quadrant roadway has just started, with completion expected in the fall of 2027. The total cost of the project is $21.4 million, with $18.6 million covered by federal grants and contributions from developers, plus a local match from City of Littleton funds of $2.8 million.

A very busy Littleton intersection is about to lose all left turns

I did a very interesting, in-depth interview on my Driving You Crazy podcast about the quad road and how it works with Aaron Heumann, Transportation Engineering Manager for Littleton Public Works. You can listen here..

Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 25 years.) He’s obsessed with letting viewers know what’s happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or listen to his award winning Driving You Crazy podcast on any podcast app including iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podbean, or YouTube.

Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Jayson Luber

Denver7 traffic expert Jayson Luber knows Colorado roads like the back of his hand – but he’s always looking for stories impacting transportation in our state for his Driving You Crazy podcast and beyond. If you’d like to get in touch with Jayson, fill out the form below to send him an email.

DENVER — Imagine being able to walk into an airport, pass right through security without even stopping and getting to your gate minutes later.

“If we know who you claim to be and we know you are not a threat, then why even physically screen you?” Dr. Sheldon Jacobson, professor of computer science at the University of Illinois said on the Driving You Crazy Podcast. “Facial recognition and biometrics in general is truly the game changer when it comes to airport security. There will some subset of travelers with appropriate vetting that may not require any physical screening in the future.”

Dr. Jacobson specializes in aviation security analytics and applied operations research. He said the future of airport security that he envisions would be dependent on travelers embracing biometrics and facial recognition combined with artificial intelligence.

“We could get to the point so that for many passengers who are benign and who are being grossly overscreened right now, the TSA would rightly screen them which means no screening at all,” Dr. Jacobson said.

Could TSA do away with traditional screenings?

He has been working on airport security well before the terror attacks of Sept., 11, 2001. His research on aviation passenger screening at airports was the foundational design of the TSA PreCheck program. The TSA uses PreCheck to identify low-risk, pre-approved travelers who will then use expedited security screening lanes at U.S. airports. The vetting allows passengers to leave their shoes, belts and light jackets on, and keep laptops and liquids in their bags during screening. Travelers fill out an application form, attend an in-person appointment for fingerprints and an ID check, and receive a Known Traveler Number to add to your airline reservations for each trip. The service costs $85 that lasts for five years.

However, Dr Jacobson believes this program should be free for all travelers, saying the government saves money when a PreCheck passenger goes through an airport security checkpoint.

Aviation security analytics specialist projects future of TSA for Denver7

“There’s been estimates that it saves around $100 million per year, and I think that is a very conservative estimate. We did the analysis and found that if they give it away for free for anybody who flies at least six one-way segments per year, it saves money. I’m a firm believer of that,” Dr. Jacobson said.

During Dr Jacobson’s conversation on the Driving You Crazy podcast, he further discusses that while the TSA isn’t perfect, it is way better than the alternative. He believes TSA has been too reactionary with the ban on liquids and taking off of shoes. The entire interview can be found on any podcast app including, iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podbean, or YouTube.