Timnath reduces speed limit on street where 10-year-old bicyclist was killed
The speed limit has been reduced on a well-traveled road in Timnath where a 10-year-old boy was fatally struck by a vehicle last month.
The town reduced the speed limit from 40 mph to 35 mph Sept. 14 on River Pass Road from Three Bell Parkway on the west to Summerfields Parkway on the east, Timnath Police Chief Terry Jones said.
Saddle Horn Drive is in the middle of those two streets. The area is heavily populated with families with children who live in the Timnath Ranch neighborhood.
The evening of Aug. 2, 10-year-old Oliver Stratton was stuck while riding his bike south on Saddle Horn Drive. He was crossing River Pass Road when the collision with a vehicle traveling eastbound on River Pass occurred, according to the police investigation.
Stratton, who was to enter the fifth grade at nearby Bethke Elementary School, died from his injuries the next day at Children's Hospital in Aurora.
Jones said the investigation into the fatal crash has not been completed.
He previously said preliminary reports indicate the vehicle involved in the crash was traveling approximately 30 mph and that impairment doesn't appear to be a cause of the crash. The driver remained on scene after the crash.
"While we are awaiting the final crash report, preliminarily we don't believe excessive speed was a contributing factor in the crash,'' he said.
Eric Fuhrman, town of Timnath engineering consultant, said as the result of the fatal crash, the town hired an outside consultant to conduct a safety study of the River Pass Road corridor.
The full study has yet to be completed, but Fuhrman said a two-week tracking of vehicle speeds on River Pass Road showed 85% of eastbound vehicles traveling 33 mph and 85% of westbound vehicles traveling 38 mph. He said that warranted reducing the speed limit to 35 mph.
He said the town is awaiting the final safety study and final crash report to determine if other measures might be needed to increase safety along River Pass Road.
Those could include a four-way stop and/or crosswalk at Saddle Horn Drive and River Pass Road. He said the intersection did not warrant either of those safety measures according to federal safety standards when the corridor was studied two years ago.
There are all-way stop signs at River Pass Road's intersections with Three Bell Parkway and Summerfields Parkway. There also is a stop sign for Saddle Horn Drive traffic at its intersection with River Pass.
"If there is an aspect of the accident that can be fixed with physical changes, we will incorporate any of the findings to change the area to make it safer," Fuhrman said.
A white ghost bike and memorial have been erected at the southeast intersection of Saddle Horn Drive and River Pass Road to memorialize Oliver Stratton.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Speed reduced on Timnath street where 10-year-old bicyclist was killed
