Colorado Springs releases priority list for street repair

Colorado Springs isn’t waiting for the outcome of next month’s sales tax vote before deciding exactly where to spend the money if it passes.

On Tuesday, the city released an updated list of streets to be the first repaired in 2016 if voters approve raising the sales tax for $250 million in additional revenue during the next five years.

The list of 50 streets is divided into north, south, east and west sections of the city.

Corey Farkas, manager of the city’s Street Division, said the work will lean heavily toward repairing busier streets.

“But we’re not neglecting neighborhood streets,” he said. “We have other programs that can take care of those.”

The listed streets have a rating of six or below on the city’s scale of one to 10.

“One is basically a gravel road and 10 is a new street,” Farkas said. “Most of the worst streets are about a three.”

Farkas said several streets — such as South Academy Boulevard and sections of Pikes Peak Avenue and Centennial Boulevard — will need major reconstruction and will be paid for from a separate funding source.

“The sales tax from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority will gradually address those major projects,” he said.

Farkas said the priority list is not final and could change because of a variety of factors.

To see the complete list, visit: http://www.springsgov.com/units/cityclerk/ClerkDocs/GetDoc.asp?DocID=43256&Show