EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — It’s a question viewers have often asked during the nine months of KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior coverage: Why haven’t new traffic signals at a busy intersection been turned on since being installed in August 2023?
The new signals are covered with dark plastic bags and “Out of Service” covers at the intersection of Fontaine Boulevard, Security Boulevard and Widefield Boulevards — a block east of Highway 85/87 and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway signal crossing.
“One day when I was walking out, the (old) lights weren’t working,” said neighbor Lestat Avila. “They had to treat it as a four-way stop. The county and the (deputies) came out here and did traffic control, but it was so chaotic. They just need to get rid of these lights because they’re already starting to go out.”
Another neighbor, Weston Krueger, expressed a similar concern.
“It’s also hard for people at night,” he explained. “With the two light (mast arms) there (at each intersection), the new lights are blocking the other lights at night. So, it’s hard to tell. And there’s also issues with the crosswalk lights. I try to push them to cross, and they don’t come on.”