The crowd at the Mancos Town Board meeting Thursday evening was fed up, angry and looking for action — and law-enforcement officers were on their side.

More than 80 people came to the board meeting and called for something to be done about the U.S. Highway 160/Colorado Highway 184 intersection where, as area resident Bob Bement said, there have "been two people killed in 4 1/2 months."

Some brought the signs they had waved at Tuesday’s peaceful demonstration following the funeral of Kiley Duran, 12, who died March 17 while trying to cross U.S. Highway 160. In November, a 79-year-old woman was killed there and her husband was critically injured when she pulled out into traffic in front of an oncoming pickup.

"We’re out of time," said Montezuma County Sheriff Joey Chavez as he delivered a report on the intersection to the town board. In his letter, Chavez acknowledged the planning already under way by the Town of Mancos and the Colorado Department of Transportation, but said, "There has to be an interim solution."

The people in the community center, where the meeting had been moved to accommodate the crowd, agreed. Speaker after speaker lamented the slow pace of action on a problem that Mancos has been protesting for decades.

Cautioning that "We’re all going to have to get on the same page here," Chavez proposed to:

• Lower the speed limit through the town limits to 35 mph.

• Put rumble strips on Highway 160 approaching the intersection from both east and west.

• Put rumble strips on Highway 184 approaching the intersection.

• Upgrade the flashing lights by attaching 35-mph speed-limit signs.

Everyone reluctantly agreed with Chavez’s opposition to a temporary stoplight, which he said would result in "total chaos in this intersection unless all frontage roads were blocked off."

Town Manager Bill Ray said the sheriff’s recommendations "mirrored" the recommendations of the town’s traffic consultants, Felsberg, Holt and Ullevig.

Duggan Brown proposed to "repaint the crosswalks so they’re really brilliant." One audience member asked about an overhead crosswalk; another suggested an underpass. David Blaine asked the town to have CDOT explore a pedestrian-activated stoplight, which would stop traffic on demand and allow a reasonable amount of time for foot traffic to cross.

Ray said these and any other suggestions citizens had would be considered in the town’s negotiations with CDOT regarding the intersection.

The board unanimously approved Trustee Greg Rath’s motion to immediately send a letter to CDOT supporting Chavez’s proposals and requesting action by April 1. The letter will also ask for a CDOT representative at every town-board meeting to report on progress.

The letter will be signed by the mayor and all of the trustees. Copies of the petitions circulated this week in Mancos will be attached, and copies will be sent to elected representatives. Other letters of support will be sought and added to the barrage of pleas aimed at CDOT, state Sen. Jim Dyer and state Rep. Mark Larson.

Citizens praised and applauded the way the sheriff’s office handled Tuesday’s demonstration, with the assistance of the Cortez Police Department and the Colorado State Patrol, but they also demanded that the proposed changes be backed up with enforcement.

Bobbi Black requested "right-turn-only" signs for the turn lanes. Preston Dillon lamented the way truckers barrel through town, saying he’d never seen one ticketed. Chavez urged people to turn in the license numbers of vehicles committing traffic offenses.

Rath and others said boys on bikes and other young people "play chicken" with highway traffic, especially right after school is out.