Should the City of Centennial make improvements to Smoky Hill Road between Buckley Road and Tower Road, where four people died in traffic accidents in the last two years? The accidents occurred at the intersections of Smoky Hill with Waco and Telluride.  The improvements might include some or all of the following: installing a center island to provide refuge for pedestrians crossing Smoky Hill at Waco; installing a crosswalk and pedestrian crossing lights; installing a traffic light that would force drivers to moderate their speed and regulate left turns from Waco onto Smoky Hill; installing a sign prohibiting left turns from Waco onto Smoky Hill; installing permanent speed measuring devices that warn drivers when they are going too fast; erecting more overhead street lights to better illuminate Smoky Hill; and lowering the speed limit by five MPH.

Pictured above is my neighbor, Levi Erwin, who was killed in July 2024 when an F-150 truck turned left out of Waco, onto Smoky Hill. He was riding a motorcycle. There isn't a stoplight at the intersection, signage, or any other measures, regulating left turns. A little over a year later, in October 2025, Susan Gaymes and her mother-in-law, Susan Bailey, were killed crossing Smoky Hill to a bus stop. It was after dark and the intersection is poorly lit, and has no protection for pedestrians. Less than two weeks after this petition was posted, on April 29, 2026, there was another fatality, at Smoky HIll and Telluride, which is close to Waco. An adult woman was killed in a T-bone crash.  No other details have been released, including her name.

Background

The City of Centennial's traffic engineer held a meeting with concerned neighbors about the intersection of Waco and Smoky Hill, on April 13, where they were basically told that nothing would be done. They haven't scheduled any improvements. However, something else IS planned - the repaving of Smoky Hill between Tower Rd. and Wagontrail Rd., sometime this year, which probably means this summer. That would effectively shut down any more discussion of a raised median, for pedestrian safety.  A median might also reduce speeding by narrowing the street (Smoky Hill). As it stands, Smoky Hill is a wide open, 4-lane arterial that runs through residential neighborhoods. The only traffic sign visible from the street at Waco, is a yellow school warning sign. There's a school across the street, that isn't visible from Smoky Hill (Trails West Elementary).

 I was told by Centennial's traffic engineer that there aren't any students attending Trails West from the neighborhood on the other side of the street. In other words, not to worry about children crossing that street. But I know of personal stories of neighbors there, who have children attending Trails West. Do we need to add a child to the death tally? (In the comments below, Stacy says, "At minimum there should be a pedestrian crossing light as I've seen elementary kids crossing here after getting out of school without any light at all"). 

This is unacceptable, and the street paving should be paused until neighbors have a chance to be heard. There will be a town hall meeting at Trails Rec Center on April 28, at 6 p.m., with both District 4 city council members.

Update: On April 29, the day after the town hall meeting, there was a fatal accident at the intersection of Smoky Hill and Telluride (a short distance from Waco).

Update: In early June, the City announced plans to begin resurfacing Smoky Hill in the near future. No more meetings have been announced to address safety measures, and the work on sidewalk curbs that the City claims will make the Waco intersection safer for pedestrians, has been going on throughout neighborhoods in Aurora  for weeks. Also, the sheriff's office has still had no comment on the circumstances of the fatal crash at Telluride, or the name of the woman who died, after 6 weeks.