So my parents live in beautiful Conifer, CO. A mountain community that’s just far enough away to escape the masses and pollution (for now) and just close enough so that the drive is less than an hour. There are two ways to get up there … Highway 285 or Deer Creek Canyon.
For those who’ve never driven up Deer Creek Canyon you really should make that trek one day … one of the most scenic drives to be found that close to Denver. After the canyon, a left turn will send you up a road referred to as “The High Grade” because the elevation change is so rapid. Driving a well-equipped vehicle up that road used to be one of my favorite things to do …. that is until the day that Jefferson County ruined it.
They re-paved the road which made it a bikers dream … smooth and winding, guaranteed to satisfy any vehicle, motorcycle or bicycling enthusiast. But after allowing us a teaser-taste of asphalt perfection, Jeffco decided they had extra tax dollars to waste, and installed centerline rumble strips. If you’re not familiar with this technique, click here for a description: http://co.jefferson.co.us/highways/highways_T48_R56.htm#RumbleStrips A short summary, they use a huge grinder to cut grooves in the pavement over the center yellow line. These are very similar to those rumble strips found on the outside of highway lanes to alert drifting drivers. I fully understand the purpose there and agree that it probably saves lives.
What I don’t understand is the centerline rumble strip. Why would the county use tax dollars to rip up the new asphalt that they so expertly laid down? They say it’s to alert drivers when they cross the yellow line. WTF? If I’m driving on a mountain or canyon road – I would like to be alerted when I’m drifting off the road… not when I’m crossing the middle yellow line. I’m well aware of where my vehicle is on the road, and if I was to hypothetically cross the middle yellow line, it would more likely be to efficiently round a corner. I’m neither condoning nor encouraging crossing the center line of any road … but when one can safely see far enough ahead to utilize a portion of the other lane to create a smoother corner arc I feel they should be able to do so without having their entire vehicle vibrate intensely.
In summary, I thought it should be pointed out that Jefferson County obviously has a surplus of funds that came from tax dollars and they’re looking very hard for ways to spend your money. If we have to install centerline rumble strips to help people drive better, than those people shouldn’t be driving. There comes a point when we need to stop catering to the stupid and unskilled. When you interrupt or altogether do away with natural selection, the overall quality of the gene pool degrades … this is and has been happening for quite some time now – way to dumb it down, people. I’m all about saving lives, but this is going overboard don’t ya think?
Peace! Thanks for listening!
