A longtime resident of the county, I recently moved into city limits. One of the perks, I thought, was parking my car and becoming more of a pedestrian. I didn’t realize that in Durango that meant risking your life to cross the street.

The rules are pretty simple here. Push a button, lights flash, cars stop, you walk. Except the cars don’t stop. I find myself stranded trying to get home from the dog park, as cars fly by me, only to stop at the red light directly ahead. As I cross the intersection at College and Main, with the WALK signal clear as day, a car whips in front of me. Barely avoiding the first obstacle, I can feel the wind from an SUV behind me as it barely misses me and my dog. The driver never even saw me.

I’ve called the Durango Police Department and they were very responsive on the phone. But I have never once seen officers enforcing these state laws. Another time, a state trooper sat, waiting to turn, watching me struggle by the dog park, letting cars whip through the crosswalk with no consequence. As it becomes harder and harder to maintain a quality way of life in a town that is becoming unaffordable to live in, I wonder if it’s even possible to cross the street without losing your life entirely. I hope it doesn’t take that for us to start paying more attention.

Adam Wood

Durango