County Proposes Rotaries On Niwot Road

By Manny Sircle

MannyS@lhvc.com

In response to ongoing complaints about traffic congestion, speeding and safety concerns on Niwot Road, county officials have proposed the installation of several rotaries. Construction of the rotaries will start June 31 and is expected to be completed before the start of the new school year.

“We believe this will make Niwot Road a much safer driving experience for everyone,” said Andrew Carr, spokesman for the sheriff’s department. Since the road is the only access to Niwot High School, many of the users are newly licensed, inexperienced teenagers.

Carr said, “The traffic along Niwot Road is so heavy in the morning that drivers waiting to turn onto Niwot Road end up taking risks to turn quickly and these new drivers haven’t had time to develop the judgment skills they need.”

“I think it’ll be much better,” said Andrea Mann, NHS sophomore. Mann commutes from Longmont and has to turn onto Niwot Road from 83rd Street. “I get so nervous coming up to that turn. I feel very pressured to get to school on time and sometimes it’s hard for me to judge if the gap in the traffic is long enough for me to turn.”

County transportation officials concluded the rotaries would be the best solution for a number of reasons. According to Brian Ike, county project manager, there are numerous studies that show rotaries do a much better job of keeping traffic moving than traffic lights or stop signs. Since traffic is required to slow down approaching a rotary, in order to yield to any vehicles already on the rotary, these will also help to address the persistent speeding issues along Niwot Road.

“These rotaries have been designed so drivers have to actually go round the structure and you won’t be able to do that if you’re driving more than 15 miles an hour,” said Ike. He suggested people drive along Spruce Street in Boulder if they want to see what the proposed rotaries will look like. “My mother has already taken me to Spruce Street to practice,” said Mann. “It was kinda different at first but after you’ve done them a few times it’s actually fun.”

“It’ll be a piece of cake,” said Philip Walker, a Niwot resident originally from Oxford, England. “Roundabouts are easy, especially these mini ones. When you’re approaching it you just have to think of it as a clock face with the exits at three o’clock, 12 o’clock, nine o’clock and so on. Of course, in England it’s a bit easier because you go round the roundabouts clockwise. Here, you have to go anti-clockwise.”

The rotaries will be located at:

· 79th Street and Niwot Road replacing the current three-way stop;

· 83rd Street and Niwot Road; Longview Drive and Niwot Road;

· Walker Road and Niwot Road replacing the current traffic light; and

· Entrance of Niwot High School and Niwot Road.

Officials considered replacing the light at 95th Street and Niwot Road, but decided to wait on the outcome of the proposed Rocky Mountain Christian Church expansion, which would warrant a different configuration if the expansion proceeds.

For further information please see www.lhvc.com/-rotaries.

Photo By Mandy Sutyak

Niwot Road will soon be looking like Spruce Street with rotaries located at the intersections with 79th Street, 83rd Street, Longview Drive, Walker Road and Niwot High School.

Diagram Courtesy UK Highway Code

This diagram, taken from the Highway Code for the United Kingdom , illustrates how to approach a multi-lane, multi-exit roundabout. The rotaries along Niwot Road will be the much simpler, single lane design. To translate this diagram for use in the U.S. readers need to imagine traveling anti-clockwise or hold a mirror perpendicular to the diagram and look at the image in the mirror.

Stones Rock Robin’s

By Mar-bell Slate

MSlate@lhvc.com

When the Rolling Stones failed to appear at the Niwot Farmer’s Market as announced last year, some fans suggested that announcement was a hoax. In reality, it was simply a scheduling error coupled with what Mick Jagger said was “a bit of a brain hiccup on my part.”

When Jagger literally ran into Robin Abb on the ski slopes last year, he promised a concert in Niwot as payback. The date was kept secret to avoid uncontrollable crowds, but the secrecy also added some confusion.

The first scheduled date came and went with the Stones busy in the recording studio, and the second date was never passed on to the Stones’ promoter, who scheduled another appearance.

As the possible Farmers’ Market dates came and went, Jagger scrambled to fulfill his promise. “I may be a bit addled at my age,” he said, “but I don’t forget my promises. Well, I might forget for a while, but I have people who are paid to remind me.”

Not wanting to wait another year, Jagger offered Abb something she couldn’t refuse – a smaller concert in a tiny venue – the dance floor at Rockin’ Robin’s. The Stones whittled down their show to fit the miniature stage, and played an all-acoustic set to a packed house.

“Even though it was acoustic,” one audience member shouted to hear himself, “It was still loud. My ears are still ringing.”

The Stones managed to get in and out of town unnoticed, and neighboring businesses never knew what was happening.

One customer at the Eye Opener, however, thought he heard “sounds like a howling, hungry dog,” at the time of the concert, but also noted that he was a country music fan and didn’t like rock at any distance or volume.

Match-A-Grant For The Grange

By Ron Goodfellow

RonG@lhvc.com

The Left Hand Grange Hall is celebrating its 100th - give or take a year. It appears that the celebration may be two years too late, as the building was actually built in 1905.The two-story frame structure on the corner of Franklin and Second Avenues in Historic Downtown Niwot is the center of the Left Hand Grange’s activities. The Grange has served the political and social needs of farmers in the area and the local community since it began.

Now the Grange needs our help. A professional assessment of the building’s condition, funded by a State Historic Fund Grant, was just delivered to the Grange Board. The building is in need of repairs and updates estimated to cost several hundred thousand dollars.The ever-resourceful gran-gers have developed some interesting plans for the fundraising effort. “We are starting small, with bake sales and are negotiating with the Girl Scouts for a cut of their cookie sales,” one granger said.

“We also plan to use the building itself; it will be the flagship of our efforts.” She explained that, from the roof of the Grange there is a clear view to Highway 119 and the eventual commuter trains on the existing rail line.

A Denver-based billboard advertising company, In-Your-Face-Adverts, has agreed to install a west-facing billboard on the grange’s roof. The Grange and In-Your-Face will equally share the resulting revenue.

The small park and the historic Niwot Fire House next to the Grange will be fenced off and a turnstile, for quarters, will allow access to the park and fire house.

A major fundraiser will be the miniature golf facility to be installed in the open space behind the Grange. “The nine hole facility will have a water feature and night lighting,” one source said. “This feature will extend the playing time and increase fundraising.” Holes three and seven will be modeled after prairie dog habitats. Astroturf paving will be used throughout the course and the traps will be real sand.

Boulder County Depart-ment of Transportation has agreed to install parking meters on the Granges’ street fronts, with the resulting revenue going to the Grange fund raising effort.

Installation of the meters should be complete by June 31. The miniature golf course will open for the July 4 weekend. There is no date available at this time for the billboard installation, but it is promised to be ready for Nostalgia Day.

Photo by Nellie Nibnose

Left Hand Grange's Centennial sign is corrected. The billboard visible from the diagonal Highway will be installed on the west side of the roof.

Courier Staff To Get Just Desserts

And We Ain’t Talkin’ Chocolate

By Nellie Nibnose

NellieN@lhvc.com

Well folks, it’s finally caught up with them and by “them” I mean the staff of this very paper. The years of fake news and April Fool’s tomfoolery have finally come to the attention of the authorities and something is going to be done.

The problem is that we’ll all have to put up with the notoriety of their rehab and jail time. Believe me, no judge alive (well maybe that idiot in Florida who presided over the Anne Nicole Smith case) will put up with “Ambien made me do it,” or “We really all thought it was funny” defense.

Funny? How funny was it to the poor woman who spent a better part of the day driving up and down Hwy. 66 looking for some silo restaurant that reportedly made veggie-shaped items that were really ground meat?

Adding to the confusion, a real Silo restaurant did open in south Longmont . Or the subsequent rise and then sudden crash in land value due to a fake article about the Niwot International Airport.

Then there was the supposed purchase of the venerable Boulder Daily Camera. Believe me when I say that the Courier doesn’t have two dimes to rub together. Although, graphics artist Julia Vandenberg was overheard saying that she didn’t have enough on her plate and the challenge of laying out a daily paper on her Mac was something that piqued her interest.

Next was the whole flap about prairie dogs. The little creatures have often been considered as the Courier’s unofficial mascot and as such, have been honored with many stories and a few recipes about how to enjoy them.

One set of readers decided the staff had taken things too far, when a flyer was put in the paper honoring the rodents with a Friar’s Club-type roast. Some readers got upset when it was mentioned that stragglers to the event would be barbequed. Everyone knows they are better fricasseed.

More recently, the staff confounded readers with tales of the Rolling Stones repaying a debt by performing in town, although that one did turn out to be true. (See review on page 1A.)

But, it was the 2006 article about gating Niwot that caused the most furor. One very angry reader complained that he was an old man and he was very upset and disheartened that the paper didn’t take its readers’ feelings into account.

Now what about those “just desserts?” Here’s a list of proposed rehabilitation activities:

· Twice daily meetings will be held where the mantra of “I will not make stuff up” will be repeated for 20-minute sessions.

· A committee of previously disgruntled readers will review all material for accuracy and political correctness.

· Staff will be strategically placed along Niwot Road to protect all pedestrians and motorized vehicles from possible debris falling from the once-misidentified willows. Staff will also be responsible for the cleanup of any debris and/or shavings if said trees are ever carved.

· All staff will be required to attend all meetings of the NBA, NCA, Boulder County Commissioners, Boulder County Land Use, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, Mountain View Fire Protection District, Boulder County Sheriff’s Department and the Left Hand Grange to ensure fairness and accuracy. The Daily Times-Call will check all copy for said accuracy.

· Staff will be required to clean up all trash after adopting all roads in Boulder County, while giving credit to the Boulder Daily Camera.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Department is already at work rounding up these troublemakers. It’s rumored that some have fled the state to Nebraska where they will try to blend into the normal population, while others have taken to the hills. Once captured, they will be put to work redirecting residents as to the new location for area recycling. While some resistance is expected, I know for sure that at least one of them won’t be shaving his head.