Side Streets ~ Neighborhood people and issues

Archive for the 'Donald and Colleen Kunecke' Tag

BLACK AND BROWN BLUR LOOKS LIKE PEACE OF MIND

February 5th, 2012, 11:30 am by

A deer trots along a new 150-foot guardrail installed along Rockrimmon Boulevard by the city behind the homes of Mitch Logue and Donald and Colleen Kunecke.

 

To most motorists flying through the intersection of Vindicator Drive and Rockrimmon Boulevard, the new guardrail along the east side is just a blur of black and brown steel.

And, to be honest, that’s why it was installed.

Most drivers are going way too fast around the corners of the T-shaped intersection to notice. (They are too busy texting their BFFs or eating a triple-cheeseburger or applying makeup.)

But to Mitch Logue and Donald and Colleen Kunecke, the sturdy new 150-foot barrier represents peace of mind and freedom to use their backyards without fear.

It’s something most people take for granted . . . the confidence they won’t get killed in their backyard by Danica Patrick impersonators.

But that’s been a very real threat for Logue and the Kuneckes, who have the misfortune of backing up to the busy intersection, kept hopping morning and night by people racing to the adjacent Safeway Center, or the large apartment complex, or to Eagleview Middle School or commuting to Mountain Shadows and Peregrine.

I drive it daily and routinely see cars accelerating down Vindicator toward its dead-end at Rockrimmon. They turn north, two abreast, tires squealing as the wild-eyed drivers — no doubt listening to 50 Cent on their earbuds  — charge to the next light.

Between the two properties, more than a dozen cars have plowed through their fences and into their yards over the years.

Just one example of the damage Mitch Logue has endured during his years backing up to Rockrimmon Boulevard and Vindicator Drive.

Mitch Logue told me he’s replaced sections of his fence a half-dozen times in 10 years. In July 2009, he spent $3,600 replacing the entire fence. Within days a small SUV smashed through and landed in his yard, taking out a post and slats.

Before the Kuneckes bought their home next-door in 2000, a soda delivery truck came crashing into the yard. Prior to that, a pickup destroyed the fence and slammed into the dining room.

Then, on June 3, 2009, a huge, white sport utility vehicle roared down Vindicator, slammed into two cars waiting at the stoplight, lurched through the intersection, jumped the curb and blasted into the Kunecke’s backyard.

This white SUV wrapped itself around a tree in the Kuneckes' backyard in June 2009 after ramming two cars at the stoplight, plowing through the intersection and exploding through the fence.

“We were getting ready to eat dinner,” Colleen Kunecke told me at the time. “It sounded like an explosion. It scared the hell out of me.”

The SUV ended up wrapped around a tree.

Prehistoric guardrails employed by the Kuneckes to protect themselves in their yard.

To protect themselves, the Kuneckes positioned huge rocks to deflect wayward vehicles.

Both families are happy to finally get some protection from the city.

“Now I’ve got some safe area to work with,” Mitch said last week. “I’m happy.”

And he’s making plans for his yard.

“I’m thinking about putting a greenhouse back there,” he said.

The Kuneckes echoed his satisfaction.

“We were quite surprised,” Donald said. “Now we’ll be protected.”

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HOW MANY FENCES HAVE TO DIE?

November 2nd, 2011, 12:29 pm by

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Tire tracks and smashed fence slats . . . it's a familiar sight to Mitch Logue. He's experienced the same thing 13 times in the 15 years he's lived in his Rockrimmon home.

A predawn wreck that destroyed part of Mitch Logue’s fence a few weeks ago turned out to be his lucky break.

The young driver who turned part of Mitch’s privacy fence into toothpicks was the 13th motorist in 15 years to hit the fence.

How is that lucky? 

Mitch Logue's backyard resembles a haunted forest with trees leaning at ugly angles and missing bark due to 15 years of pounding from 13 cars that have crashed through his fence.

It turns out 13 wrecks was enough to convince the city it was time to protect Logue and his next-door neighbor from the wild-eyed NASCAR wanna-bes who have crashed their cars into their backyard fences.

Usually, they are turning at the T-shaped intersection of Vindicator Drive and Rockrimmon Boulevard.

I’m guessing most were speeding, texting, cell-phoning their BFF, stuffing their pieholes, firing up a doobie or doing something more important than keeping both hands on the wheels and both eyes on the road.

Longtime Side Streets readers — both of you — may recall I wrote about Mitch and his next-door neighbors, Donald and Colleen Kunecke, in 2009 after another spate of marauding, fence-smashing motorists.

Mitch Logue has replaced a half dozen trees killed by cars crashing his fence. I call them Nature's Guardrails. But he's hoping the city will build a real guardrail to protect his yard.

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In July 2009, Mitch had just spent $3,600 rebuilding his fence when a small SUV plowed into his yard, taking out a brand new fence post and a slew of slats.

Things were quiet until this past June when a young girl missed the turn, hit the curb and landed against the fence. Mitch said he was able to make minor repairs at no cost.

Then came a recent predawn visit from a fellow who blasted into the fence, smashing a dozen or so slats. He backed out, left Mitch a note offering to pay for the damage and drove home.

Here's a look from FlashEarth.com at the intersection.

“This is the first time I’ve had two in the same year,” Mitch said.

It’s not just the fence Mitch is worried about.

A sidewalk runs between his fence and the street and it is heavily used by kids going to nearby Eagleview Middle School as well as neighbors walking to the Safeway center.

“Every one of the cars that has hit my fence had to cross that sidewalk,” he said. “It’s a real safety issue.”

Here's how Mitch Logue's new fence looked in July 2009 after it was smashed.

City traffic engineer Dave Krauth agrees. After I told Krauth on Monday of the latest two wrecks, he sent some his staff out to re-evaluate the intersection.

By Wednesday afternoon, Krauth had a decision.

“The good news is we’re going to install a guardrail,” Krauth said, adding that he hopes it can be squeezed between the curb and sidewalk.

 ”But if we can’t fit it there, we’ll put it right against the fence.”

Krauth said the guardrail would run 100 feet, protecting both Mitch and the Kunecke home.

In the past, traffic engineers have rejected a guardrail because cars might plow straight into it, not glance off it at an angle.

And engineers didn’t have statistics to support installing a guardrail because few of the wrecks were reported to police.

But Krauth said he’s convinced by the anecdotal evidence offered by neighbors over the years.

Mitch said he’d move his fence in a foot or so to make extra room for a guardrail, if it would help.

“I’d really like people not to run through my fence anymore,” Mitch said. “It’s getting really expensive.”

Once it is installed, as weather permits over the next couple months, Mitch might feel safe enough to actually use his backyard again and even let his granddaughter play there.

“I can’t put anything back there like a playhouse,” Mitch said. “I can’t use my yard at all.”

 

In June 2009, an SUV smashed through the fence of Mitch Logue's next-door neighbor, coming to rest against one of Nature's Guardrails.

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TRAFFIC CONCERNS in Rockrimmon and Wagon Trails

October 4th, 2009, 4:00 pm by

============ UPDATE   BELOW –  UPDATE BELOW ============

Remember the smashing fences in Rockrimmon? You know, the folks who live at the bottom of the hill where Vindicator Drive meets Rockrimmon Boulevard? They’ve lived with cars crashing into their yards for years.

Below is a map from FlashEarth.com of the area:

fenceflash

Two families – Mitch Logue and Donald and Colleen Kunecke, wanted the city to install guardrails to prevent future incidents like this one below:

fencewreck2

I’ve written about it a couple times. Here is a link to a previous blog about the problem.

Well the Colorado Springs traffic engineer, Dave Krauth, said the intersection won’t accomodate guard rails. But he’s interested in testing sophisticated new traffic sensors to see if he can stop some of the carnage.

The sensors track cars entering an intersection as the traffic signal is about to change. Traffic engineers call this moment the “dilemma zone.”

 The sensors can delay the change to allow the cars to clear without stomping on their gas and plowing over the curb and into a fence and yard.

There’s also news on another bottleneck in the city. This one is a two-lane stretch of Dublin Boulevard between Bridle Pass Drive and Powers Boulevard. Here’s a look from FlashEarth:

dublinflashoverview

Readers like Tim Little want to know why Dublin suddenly shrinks from four lanes to two and a stretch of pavement sits unfinished.

It’s a twisted tale of land that is annexed vs. unincorporated land stuck in El Paso County.

dublincitylimits

It is further complicated by rules about when a develop must build infrastructure like roads, curbs and sidewalks.

Krauth said the road will be widened as land is developed along the stretch. Already a short piece was widened but never attached to the intersection at Bridle Pass due to a property line issue.

dublinflashcloseup

The rest of the road won’t be widened until county land on the north side is developed and annexed into the city.

As a result, motorists are stuck with roads that look like this view to the east:

dublinroadclosed1

And this view looking west:

dublincurvewestb

================ NOW THE UPDATE ================

 

I now have an answer to the mysterious disappearing pavement.

dublinflashcloseup1

The new black pavement was installed by the developer of a townhome project adjacent to Dublin Boulevard. However, it ends about 400 feet from the intersection to the west.

Why didn’t the developer just finish the job?

Tim Mitros of city engineering tells me the pavement ends at a property line. Developers are required to install infrastructure — sidewalks, curbs, gutters even roadway – adjacent to their projects. But not for a neighbor’s land.

In the case above, the pavement ends at the property line of the next parcel and the remaining 400 feet will be installed if and when the adjacent land is developed.

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