Colorado Springs wraps up 8th year of ten-year 2C expanded street paving project; officials seek to renew voter-apptoved tax to pay for it
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- City officials said that they have doubled the percentage of streets in good condition, and reduced the number of potholes by 50%, in the eight years since the start of the 2C expanded street paving project.
Previous Mayor John Suthers pushed for 2C while campaigning for his first of his two terms; voters approved a sals tax increase to fund the initial five-year project in 2015 and passed a five-year extension in 2019.
2C also includes replacing damaged sidewalks, curbs, gutters and ramps that meet federal disability standards.
Despite the progress to date, officials previously said that only a fifth of city streets will have been repaved when the ten-year schedule ends in 2025 -- which raises questions about whether the current budget is enough to keep up with paving needs.
City Council President Randy Helms said that officials are already planning to ask voters to extend the tax a second time.
"It's never too early to stat thinking about it," he said. "We have started talking about extending 2C for another five years. And where that would come up, is in November of 2024. Since it ends in 2025, we want to try to get it approved by our citizens in 2024."
Helms added that he hopes the 2024 request, if passed by voters, will be the last -- and is optimistic that other funding sources can be found.
Many residents say that they're still waiting for deteriorating streets in their neighborhoods -- such as the east end of Pikes Peak Avenue, shown above -- to be repaved.
KRDO 13 found mixed reaction among residents about whether paving progress has been satisfactory, and whether they support extending the tax again.
David Krause is skeptical.
"They say they're going to fix things, and they don't," he said. "But they constantly ask for money to fix the roads. I don't see much improvement. And this isn't just in my neighborhood. It's throughout the entire town. Will I vote to extend the tax? I don't know. You want things to improve."
However, Sophie Mark said that many drivers new to the city don't remember how how bad potholes in streets were before 2C began.
"I think there's been a noticeable difference," she said. "Honestly, I haven't seen many streets that are terrible. Hailing from the Midwest, I've seen street potholes the size of a car."
Kayla McCready believes that the estimated $50 million generated annually by the tax could be put to better use.
"I feel like right now, we should be focused on trying to help people pay bills and, like, get off the street," she said.
