Please help us to serve you better

 

It is up to us to use resources rationally to achieve the best effect for all users of the public road network. We must consider several things while maintaining public roads, but the safety of road users and infrastructure protection are priorities.

Every right of the way of the road (ROW) is made of a part intended for active traffic (asphalted or gravel road) and space between the edge of the road and property line (intended for accesses, utility needs, future road improvements, and road drainage channeling).

To be able to maintain the roads, it is necessary to be able to approach them.

ROW is not intended for any storage or parking.

The portion of the ROW is intended for road drainage; it is essential to make a difference between road and property drainage.

It is not allowed to drain the property on the road; water from the property needs to stay on the property or to be channelized to the drainage easement as far as possible from the road.

Figure 1 Example: Usage of the Right of Way ROW

 

The drainage problem is one of the most significant issues in the Pueblo West network due to years of neglecting standards and best practices.

Figure 2 Example: Usage of the Right of Way ROW

Specific improvements present on the network do not comply with Pueblo County standards and prevent us from maintaining the network.

 

Landscaping:

Only some visual improvements are good for traffic safety or maintenance.

Figure 3 Example: Unsafe landscaping

A bicyclist on the road who is forced to leave the lane due to traffic conditions cannot move safely. Such an upgrade opens the owner up to a lawsuit in the described case and prevents us from accessing the road for maintenance.

 

Decorative boulders:

Figure 4 Example: Decorative boulders

Large bollards and trees are not considered crashworthy but fixed obstacles that can cause serious injuries or more significant material damage in the event of a crash, again opening the owner up to a lawsuit in the described case and preventing us from accessing the road for maintenance.

 

Mailboxes:

Any construction in the ROW (mailboxes) needs to be crash-worthy (light construction, which will not significantly influence the crash consequences).

Mailbox construction and the location standard are defined in Pueblo County Standards 5.21 Figure 12A, 12B, 13, and 14.

Figure 5 Example: Concrete mailbox

In case of a crash, this or a similar mailbox (not crash-worthy) can cause severe injury or damage to the occupant or vehicle, again opening the owner up to a lawsuit in the described case and preventing us from accessing the road for maintenance.

 

Corner property:

The visibility of the intersection must be ensured as defined in 5.10.3. Pueblo County Standards

Nothing that could impair the visibility of the intersection can be approved (trees, fences, construction...).

Figure 6 Example: Bad intersection visibility

Yes, there are mandatory stop signs, but what happens when people don't obey the signs?

The legal penalty for disobeying the sign is not death, although, with poor visibility at the intersection, that may be the outcome.

We are proud to serve the citizens of Pueblo, but we will need your help to do it in the best possible way.

Please remove any unsafe improvements you installed ROW, reduce the risk to you and network users, and allow us access to the roads so we can maintain them properly.

Thank you,

 

Pueblo County Public Works