PrideFest age restriction measure fails Highway 83 to undergo major changes amid crash concerns

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A large stretch of a major state highway known for dangerous driving conditions will see several safety improvements in the coming years, with some projects already completed.

“I don’t think that Highway 83 has changed much from when I was a state trooper patrolling it, and it was dangerous then,” Commissioner Lora omas, one of Douglas County’s elected leaders, said in April. “So when people slow and make a left turn, whether they use their turn signals or not, that’s a recipe for disaster.”

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Castle Rock Town Councilmember

Tim Dietz revived conversations about restricting Douglas County PrideFest to people 18 or older in a contentious meeting on June 6. During council comments at the beginning of the meeting, Dietz said he wanted to protect children, falsely implying that LGBTQ people are a danger to them. Dietz said the county has not done enough to respond to an incident during last year’s PrideFest where a drag performer’s breastplate was exposed while they were dancing on stage.

“I personally want to see this stay 18 and up no matter what to protect the kids, to not over-sexualize the kids,” he said, avoiding calling out PrideFest by name until explicitly asked which event he was talking about.

Dietz motioned to send a letter on behalf of the town to the Douglas County Commissioners, who control at includes changes near Franktown Elementary School and many other locations along the highway corridor.

A main tra c artery that runs through Douglas County, State Highway 83 — known in at least some areas as Parker Road — is set to see a laundry list of changes. “ e safety analysis shows portions of this roadway that experience crash rates above average for this type of corridor,” a planning document for the improvements says. Improvements will be made between Bayou Gulch Road — a short drive south of the Town of Parker — to Palmer Divide Avenue, the border between Douglas and El Paso counties.

“ e key goal is to improve safety,

SEE CHANGES, P6