By Bill Radford
Less than a year after a four-way stop debuted at Falcon Highway and Meridian Road, there is a new reason to hit the brakes on Falcon Highway: A four-way stop has been installed at Falcon Highway and Curtis Road as well.
The reason for the latest change is the same as the earlier one: safety.
“Falcon Highway and Curtis Road has been on the county’s radar because of its crash history and has been evaluated several times as new information has become available,” an El Paso County spokesperson explained via email. As recently as September 2025, an evaluation by a traffic engineering consultant concluded that neither a traffic signal nor an all-way stop was warranted. (At the time, it was a two-way stop for north and south traffic on Curtis Road; traffic west and east on Falcon Highway had clear sailing.)
However, a more recent review came to a different conclusion. The county follows the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) when evaluating traffic control; the county spokesperson explained. “These national standards provide objective criteria for determining when traffic control measures such as stop signs and traffic signals are appropriate.” And armed with more recent statistics, the latest review concluded that the intersection met the MUTCD criteria for an all-way stop based on both traffic volume and crash history.
“For a four-leg intersection, that criterion can be met when there are five or more qualifying crashes in a 12-month period or six or more in a 36-month period. From 2023 through 2025, there were 10 broadside crashes at Falcon and Curtis, including two that resulted in serious injuries.”
Before the four-way stop was installed, electronic signs informed drivers of a three-day “road survey” in the area. It was not the kind of survey in which drivers were asked for their opinion on the change, though; it was simply an engineering survey consisting “of field measurements and collection of roadway information needed to accurately lay out and install the planned improvements.”
So what do people think of the new four-way stop? On Nextdoor, the online community hub, some people were critical, worrying about eastbound traffic that would have to stop on the hill right before Curtis Road and could have trouble getting going again –- or even sliding backwards — in icy conditions. Others praised the new stop as a welcome addition.
