In what will be Stapleton’s strongest effort yet to reduce speeding in the community, Forrest City, in conjunction with the city of Denver, will be placing stop signs at all Stapleton intersections. Stapleton residents in the tens have been complaining about the rampant speeding in Stapleton for the last two years, but have seen little done about the problem. In accordance with Forrest City bylaws, President Phil Dargossi immediately overreacted to the issue to silence the relatively small number of complainers by instituting what is now being called his “stop all” policy.
There were no official studies done on the speed of traffic in Stapleton, but there were several subjective studies that Forrest City sited where residents simply stated that many drivers were going “too fast.”
“At times I would see cars driving by that I felt were driving at unsafe speeds,” said resident Brian Meeter. “We can’t, and won’t have that.”
Some residents have noticed drawbacks to the plan. “I like people driving more slowly,” says Dave Leonhart. “But I don’t like having a trip that use to take 12 minutes now take a half an hour.”
There are some other issues that concern residents regarding the new plan as well. “Used to be people from Aurora just whizzed right through,” says Dan Bolsem. “Now, you will see these Aurora people stopping every 30 to 80 yards. Have you ever seen an Aurora person up close? Not a good experience.”
Although Dargossi sympathizes with residents’ frustrations, he would like for the community to be patient and see how it all plays out. “Honestly, that is kind of our answer to everything. Just be patient, and let’s see how this thing pans out.” Residents will have to have more patience as, moving forward, they will be stopping their cars at every intersection.]]>