Public feedback leads to changes in El Paso County transportation plan approved Thursday
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- After months of discussion and many concerns expressed by opposing neighbors, the Briargate Parkway-Stapleton Road Transportation Corridor plan passed by a unanimous vote of the county Planning Commission.
As KRDO reported previously, the plan will extend Briargate east more than four miles, from Black Forest Road to Stapleton and Meridian roads in Falcon.
Commissioners postponed voting after a three-hour public hearing last month, asking county staff to provide more specifics about how wide the corridor will be and how neighbors along the route will be affected.
The major change in the plan responds to neighbors' fears that the extended parkway will eventually become a six-lane corridor like the existing parkway to the west; officials said that the extension will be no wider than 120 feet.
County Engineer Josh Palmer said that it should provide enough space to include a center median, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, a trail and any necessary drainage infrastructure.
"This is not a final design," said commission chairman Tom Bailey. "This is just setting the conditions within which the engineers will build."
Neighbor Steve Jacobs considers the change a good compromise.
"I think the process was pretty cooperative and ended with a good result," he said. "But I won't be satisfied until I see it built. Perhaps its too early to see the final plans, but we'll be keeping an eye on it."
Jacobs said that several hundred people live in the area along the extension, including 39 homes along the extension path.
"They're estimating that 25,000 vehicles a day will pass through there," he continued. "That will create a lot of noise, and we'll lose the quiet atmosphere we've always enjoyed. But we've known since 1987 that this was coming."
One of the homeowners along the path, Christine Mohr, said that she's worried about a natural gas pipeline that under part of the extension path.
"It goes parallel, which is three houses down from mine," she said. "Research shows that gas pipelines most often break during construction. The road was planned as a minor road rather than the principal road it will be. I think the weight and magnitude of traffic could damage that pipeline."
Mohr presented commissioners with a power point report at Thursday's meeting, and promised to keep raising concerns about the project.
"Many of the final decisions haven't been made yet," Bailey said. "A lot of that will be determined by funding and when construction actually happens."
Palmer said that he hopes funding will be available between 2025 and 2028, in the next round of projects by the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority sales tax.
Meanwhile, Colorado Springs crews are working on extending Briargate east from Wolf Lake to Black Forest Road, where it will connect to the county's extension.
