Part of busy 8th Street in Colorado Springs targeted for study and $3.5 million in upgrades
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- This heavily-traveled corridor on the city's southwest side is only a few miles long, but most of the traffic congestion is on the north end between Motor City Drive and Fountain Creek.
Last week, city engineers started a seven-month study of that stretch and will include soliciting feedback from business owners and the public for suggestions and ideas to improve it.
The north end of the street is commonly used by commuters and customers for a number of businesses, including a Walmart store.
Aaron Egbert, a senior city engineer, said that heavy traffic and the congestion of businesses make it difficult for many drivers to see their destination in time to make a safe turn -- which leads to unsafe U-turns as a result.
An example of that commonly occurs in the narrow front parking lot of KRDO NewsChannel 13, where drivers make U-turns through the lot despite signs asking them to avoid doing so.
City engineers are considering changes and safety improvements that will improve traffic flow, add or widen sidewalks and improve connections to nearby trails and the growing Gold Hill Mesa subdivision to the west.
"We're hearing that people want better and safer access for pedestrians and bicycles," Egbert said. "We also want to make turn-in and turn-out lanes and merge lanes safer to and from the businesses."
Engineers also are looking at improving drainage from side streets above 8th Street -- such as Lower Gold Camp Road and Moreno Avenue -- where runoff during heavy rain can cause flash flooding.
Frank Claros owns South Colorado Motors along the strip and expressed mixed feelings about recently moving to the location.
"It's good that a lot of traffic passes through here but it's going too fast," he said. "Slow it down and give people time to find the places they're looking for."
Ray Couch rides his bicycle along 8th Street every day.
"The problem I see is when the streets are cleaned, the debris ends up in bike lanes and along the curb," he said. "With that loose material, having to stop can be dangerous. Hopefully the bike lanes and curbs and gutters can be kept clean."
The city will factor public input into its final plans for improving the targeted section of the street, with work scheduled to begin sometime next year.
Egbert said that the project will be funded with $3.5 million in revenue from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority sales tax, which designated the area as a high priority.
