
Thomas Mitchell

Audio By Carbonatix
As driving in Denver becomes increasingly perilous, certain intersections are now full-fledged danger zones.
Denver streets have seen more than 24,600 reported motor-vehicle accidents since the beginning of 2023, according to the city’s Open Data Catalog; those crashes have resulted at least 576 serious bodily injuries and 85 deaths. That makes 2023 Denver’s worst year for serious collisions in decades.
Ten of the city’s surface street intersections are responsible for at least 354 collisions between them in the past seventeen months. And one of those, South Santa Fe Drive at West Alameda Avenue, has been on our top-ten dangerous intersection lists since we started sharing the rankings in 2017.
But according to comments on the Westword Facebook page, readers have spotted other hazards all over city streets, including dangerous speeders. Says Ray:
Denver drivers stink. These intersections put them on a collision course.
Offers Alan:
I blame the transplants…Everyone moving here driving like they are still on the farm doesn’t help.
Comments Robert:
Wow, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure must be so proud of its work.They design streets that are conducive to speeding. It’s a well-known phenomenon that European planners have successfully worked to combat. Traffic deaths there are declining, while ours are rising. They’re not magical unicorn people over there; we can do what they’re doing and see similar results.
Responds Cheryl:
I lived in Germany and I know their streets are planned better than ours, but in America if you try to put a traffic circle in, peoples’ heads blow up. It is hard to undo decades of wrong planning, but people need to slow down and drive carefully. They have to take some responsibility.
Notes Nick:
I can tell you right on Lincoln and Fourth there’s about an accident a week and yet it’s not on this list. Between Third and Fifth, it’s a racetrack.
Adds Emilano:
When there are no police or cameras to enforce laws for two to three years.
Replies Cynthia:
Thank you! The people are driving crazy everywhere here in Aurora! Doing 60 and 70 mph on Quincy, Hampden and others. Running red lights everywhere! Yellow means caution and to slow down! Red means STOP! Yesterday at a red light near the sheriff’s office and library on Arapahoe Road, I was distracted for two seconds on my phone, making sure it was plugged into the car and charging. As I looked up to check the light, in the left-turn lane, I saw it was green and as I looked to make sure there were no red light runners….two cars blew through the red light at 40 to 45 mph. I would have been slammed by both cars! The speed needs to stop; the red light running needs to as well!
Wonders Ellen:
Why don’t drivers just obey the laws?
What do you consider the metro area’s most dangerous intersection? What do you think of Denver drivers in general? Post a comment or share your thoughts at editorial@westword.com.