EL PASO COUNTY — Sunshine and warmth in Southern Colorado cause things to grow--including cone zones. "You will start seeing more cone zones go up as we get closer to the spring," said El Paso County Public Works, Deputy Director, Jack Ladley. Cone zones are typically added in March and April, so road crews can take advantage of warmer days that are required for road construction in Colorado.
All communities deal with cone zones. In recent years there has been an abundance in Southern Colorado. "It's partly due to growth and partially due to aged infrastructure around the region," said Ladley.
Whatever the reason, project managers know drivers consider them annoying. Disregard and frustration are major factors leading to unsafe driving in cone zones. It puts road workers and people in vehicles at risk.
There have been workers in cone zones hit and killed by cars. Injuries from getting tagged by a vehicle are more common. Colorado Springs Public Works Operations Manager, Corey Farkas, said he gets reports of workers tagged or having near misses with cars regularly. "You would think a flagger telling people which direction to go, they would be the most visible and the tend to be the ones that get hit."
The point of discussing cone zones is to hopefully foster better understand the need for heightened safety in road construction zones. Warning about distracted driving and the need to slow down protect workers, drivers and passengers.
