“Intersectionality” is all the rage these days on the social justice left. The idea is that multiple forms of discrimination overlap or intersect to hold back members of marginalized groups.

So, let’s talk briefly about intersections. Though, in this case, the subject is not civil rights or social equity, but the old-fashioned definition of the word describing where roads cross and some combination of cars, bikes and pedestrians come together.

That is passé stuff during this ever so enlightened era. But for some of us living near one particular intersection, and for a growing number of people across our fine city, it has become the issue du jour.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the intersection of 7th Avenue and Williams Street just below Cheesman Park in a historic part of central Denver.

Thanks to our betters at City Hall, specifically the ever-so-bureaucratic Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, this rather calm, innocent convergence of two residential streets has been turned into an unsightly, ungodly eyesore that takes confusion for motorists, bicyclists and walkers alike up to a full level-ten.

A corner that was not broken, certainly not badly so, has been turned into the most confusing, convoluted mess that would make Rube Goldberg wince.

To sit and watch for even a few minutes is to bear witness to a comedy of errors, as neither drivers nor bike riders have any idea where to go or what is expected of them. Do they opt for the untimely U-turn or the delicate execution of a series of stops-and-starts or just throw their hands in the air and run the barricade?

With more patience and advanced math skills than I possess, former Councilwoman Jeanne Robb counted no less than 88 supremely ugly, waist-high, white poles pretending to guide intersection traffic. I trust that city bean counters at least received a volume discount.

Such poles, though usually in more limited quantity, now adorn too many other Denver corners. In the name of “intersectionality,” why must they all be white?

When questioned about this asininity, city types point to the need for bicycle safety and claim all kinds of public outreach and notice that was mysteriously invisible to the entire neighborhood.

To be clear, plenty in our area, myself included, ride our bikes every chance we get. No doubt, the same is true in every part of the city. However, what separates most bicyclists from the extreme few, who push such absurd measures, is the concept of zealotry.

In any group, a few will take it too far and act as if their interests are the only ones that matter. Zealots of all stripes are doing quite well at the moment. Let it be said that the bicycle lobby has no shortage of such one-dimensional, morally superior, true believers.

Jenn Ridder, chief of staff to Denver’s newly-minted mayor, grew up on this block. Please stop back by, Jenn, look around and decide whether this hideous display corresponds to Mayor Mike Johnston’s idea of a new vibe for Denver.

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Speaking of intersections and things coming together, two other items merit a bit of commentary this week.

Next up is the lawsuit filed against the Colorado General Assembly by, wait for it, two of its own members, Rep. Elisabeth Epps of Denver and Rep. Bob Marshall of Highlands Ranch, Democrats both. There have been weirder legislative stories, but you have to go back a ways. I personally flash back 15 years to when the always polite and refined Douglas Bruce kicked a news photographer during the morning prayer.

Though lacking the physical force, this move by Epps and Marshall was a figurative kick to the shins of the institution of which they are a part.

Their allegation is virtually undisputed that both caucuses of both houses routinely violate the open meetings requirement of Colorado’s half-century-old Sunshine Law.

The question is not whether this regularly transpires, but what to do about it. From this vantage point, the only plausible, legal approach is that caucus meetings and other such regular gatherings should be fully noticed and open.

The tougher call relates to how to regulate informal conversations among a small handful of legislators. It is evident that they are covered by open meetings requirements, as written. Yet, they are also the grease that allow differences to be resolved and the legislature to function without turning every chat into performative theater for the nearest camera.

The court will have its say. But the legislature would be advised to act first and cleanse itself. The Sunshine Law is not inscribed in the Constitution. It is simply a statute. How about convening a thoughtful, deliberative process and revising it?

Demonstrate seriousness in adhering to the intent of fully open meetings. Ditch the new, technology-enabled practice of using internal messaging systems to dodge that intent. But carve out reasonable, limited exceptions for private conversations. That’s a common sense approach that voters might just understand and, if need be, endorse.

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Lastly, in keeping with their finishing position in most Colorado elections for two decades, the latest antics of Chairman Dave Williams and the Colorado GOP invite ridicule.

Get this: In a state where 47% of voters identify as unaffiliated and where voters decided by a substantial margin to make it easy for those unaffiliated to participate in primary elections, Williams and his merry band of small-tenters seek to do away with primaries for selecting their nominees.

What a bold, self-defeating step backwards. All to snub the largest contingent of their fellow Coloradans.

Worse, knowing he lacks the votes on his central committee to pull this off, Williams has come up with the novel approach of counting anyone who doesn’t show up as a “yes” vote. Stalin and Mao must be twitching in their graves, thinking, “Damn, I never even thought of that one.”

His party was lagging and staggering well before Williams came on the scene. Even as he seems determined to reduce its status to that of complete irrelevancy. This latest stunt is so ridiculous that Williams might want to book the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping for his little meeting.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for Colorado Politics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at?EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann