Council approves traffic signal at Lowell and Broadlands Drive after family recounts son’s near-fatal collision

The City and County of Broomfield approved a construction agreement to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Lowell Boulevard and Broadlands Drive, a project public commenters said is urgently needed for pedestrian safety.

Jeff Walker and Julie Walker, parents of a Legacy High School student who was struck by a driver while crossing at that intersection in August 2022, told council their son suffered a traumatic brain injury, a broken femur, and extensive scarring and missed school because of the collision. They said eyewitness accounts and police reports showed the driver was traveling at an estimated 42 mph when the crash occurred. The Walkers described multiple additional close calls at that crossing since the collision and urged the council to complete the signal work promptly.

Council approved consent agenda item 6b — a construction agreement with Sturgeon Electric Company Inc. for the Willow Run at Midway and Lowell and at Broadlands Drive traffic signal project — during the consent vote. The clerk read consent items 6a and 6b by title; the consent motion passed unanimously following a motion and second. Resident testimony and council remarks emphasized earlier near-miss incidents at the intersection and called the signal “long overdue.”

Brian Graham, CIP program manager, told council that traffic studies for other nearby intersections (Midway/Ash) had not recently met signal warrants but said new counts would be gathered to reassess. Council members asked staff to monitor nearby intersections for safety issues and proceed with installation of the signal at Lowell and Broadlands as planned.