City Officials Announce Safety Improvements for West Colorado Avenue

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- As organizers prepare for the annual Territory Days festival on Memorial Day weekend, city officials are planning to make safety upgrades that could improve the atmosphere for that event, and for other future gatherings along bustling West Colorado Avenue.

On Wednesday, officials gathered to announce the plan for safety improvements stemming from a city corridor study conducted five years ago.

The temporary changes will cover a mile of the avenue, from Limit Street (a block west of 8th Street) to 31st Street, with a focus on the heart of Old Colorado City between 24th and 27th streets.

For years, city officials have tried to balance the shopping, dining, tourism, and festive atmosphere of the entertainment district with their concerns about speeding drivers, limited parking, pedestrian safety, and loud traffic noises that disturb people who are dining or sightseeing along the avenue.

So, beginning June 1, officials will gradually institute a series of changes -- lasting a year -- to address those concerns.

"The voters voted on this a few years ago and authorized the city to proceed with this project," said Ryan Phipps, the city's capital improvements manager. "We're really excited that we'll be proceeding with the project. The intent of the project is overall traffic safety improvements and to make all of Colorado City a more welcoming environment for everybody."

The most visible change will be a reduction in traffic from two lanes to one, in each direction.

Officials will collect traffic and safety data from the changes to determine which works best and should become permanent.

A possible result of the changes is the widening of sidewalks, similar to the recently completed revitalization project on two blocks of Tejon Street downtown.

"A recent study showed that a third of visitors to our region have some sort of mobility issue," said Adam Stapan, president of the Old Colorado City and Downtown Development Authority. "I think it's imperative that we don't lose out on 33% of this business due to the beautiful history of Old Colorado City, but also create some physical barriers for people."

The city also asks residents to respond to an online survey regarding safety along the avenue; to see the survey, visit: http://ColoradoSprings.gov/ColoradoAve