We, the people of southeast Aurora, Colorado strongly oppose the construction and building of a roundabout on S. Tempe St. and the extension of E. Belleview Ave. from S. Tempe St. over E-470 to join with E. Belleview Ave. in the Tollgate Crossing community for a multitude of reasons. 

1) There is no reason for a roundabout or extension of E. Belleview Ave.  Members of the community can easily access all the current local amenities from Copperleaf Blvd to E. Quincy Ave. or S. Tempe St./S. Powers Ave. to S. Versailles Pkwy to Smoky Hill Rd.  

2) Adding a roundabout will increase the traffic in the area and the number of accidents because many people are not familiar with roundabouts and the proper procedures for entering and exiting roundabouts.

To expand on this point, there are two nearby roundabouts - the first one is Copperleaf Blvd. and Tibet St. and the second one is Copperleaf Blvd and Tempe St.  According to CDOT data, the Copperleaf Blvd/Tibet St. roundabout has had a total of 5 car accidents between 1/1/13 and 12/31/22. (1a) The Copperleaf Blvd/Tempe St. roundabout has had a total of 24 car accidents between 1/1/13 and 12/31/22. (1b)

If the intention is to slow traffic, we propose one and/or more of these alternatives, if it is necessary:

• Installing flashing speed limit signs on either side of the curve
• Installing flashing arrow signs on either side of the curve
• Installing speed bumps on either side of the S. Tempe St. curve instead of a roundabout. If speed bumps are not allowed per the fire department because they damage fire engines and injure firefighters, please consider adding speed cushions.  
• Installing speed cushions on either side of the curve. If speed cushions are not allowed, please consider adding rumble strips on either side of the curve. I know this is not how rumble strips are typically used, but it might prove to be beneficial in this case.

Please note:  The S. Tempe St. curve already has multiple signs on either side alerting drivers that an almost 45 degree curve is ahead and the recommended speed through the turn is 15 mph.  Because of the degree of the curve, traffic has to slow down to safely complete the turn.  

3) According to CDOT data, the S. Tempe St. curve between E. Progress Ave. and E. Penwood Ave. has had a total of 3 car accidents between 1/1/13 and 12/31/22.  One of those accidents involved a drunk driver.  (1c)  There have been many unreported accidents; however, almost all of these unreported accidents were because a single driver was driving too fast and lost control of their own vehicle through the curve.  

4) It will greatly impact the Saddle Rock Ridge Covered Playground making it an unpleasant and dangerous place for children to play because of the addition of the roundabout and the high volume of traffic from adding the E. Belleview Ave. extension. 

5) It will greatly impact the High Plains Trail making it unpleasant and dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists by creating a roundabout and a major street right next to and through a major crossing point of the High Plains Trail.   

6) The homes on either side of the current open space will decrease in value because people do not want to have a busy and noisy 4-lane road right behind their home.

7)There is a lot of wildlife in the area and where the proposed E. Belleview Ave. extension is going in is currently an open space.  Adding the extension will displace wildlife in the open space causing various animals including but not limited to snakes, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, squirrels, rats, mice, prairie dogs, and birds to move into residential yards creating problems for residents and their pets.   

8) The traffic study conducted by Arapahoe county transportation was done on S. Versailles Pkwy from Tempe St. to Smoky Hill Rd. is NOT an accurate measure of the traffic.  They did not specifically measure the traffic in the area where the proposed roundabout will be located on S. Tempe St. from the Copperleaf Blvd/S. Tempe St. roundabout to where S. Tempe St. turns into E. Powers Ave.  

8) At the Open Forum Meeting on November 8th, 2023, the Transportation Division manager, Jim (James) Katzer and associates told members of the community that they are "moving forward" with the project in May/June 2024 after receiving lots of negative feedback from the community members that attended.  This is concerning because it conveys Arapahoe County doesn't value or use resident feedback to guide their planning, construction, and/or improvements.

 For all of these reasons and more, we strongly oppose Arapahoe County transportation department adding the S. Tempe St. roundabout AND the extension of E. Belleview Ave. 

(1a) (1b) (1c) This information was collected from Colorado Department of Transportation via a CORA request.