Better process toward approving transit projects, meeting needs sought by Colorado Springs City Council

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Will combining two citizen advisory committees into one, help the city do a better job of agreeing on and following through on transit projects?

The City Council apparently thinks so, and had its first vote on an ordinance to that effect Tuesday.

The Council voted 8-1 (with Councilman Mike O'Malley opposed) to approve the ordinance; it will officially take effect after a second vote in two weeks.

Under current procedure, the nine-member Active Transportation Advisory Committee focused primarily on pedestrians, bicyclists and related matters and reported tp the 11-member Citizens' Transportation Advisory Board.

The CTAB considered all transit matters and reported to the Council.

However, several recent challenges -- such as filling committee vacancies, occasionally not having enough members present to hold a meeting and changes in transit needs -- led the committees and the council to consider merging the committees into one 13-member committee.

The new committee would be called the Citizens' Transportation Advisory Board.

The committee chairmen and some Council members said that the situation hasn't slowed the progress of finalizing and completing transit projects; but that there is a realization that transit has become more diverse and needs a better overview to include changes such as the presence of electric scooters, and future infrastructure such as a commuter rail system.

However, one need identified 20 years ago remains unmet -- building a new downtown transit center that would incorporate such changes. One Council member said that discussions about that project, while confidential, are progressing.