DID YOU EVER WONDER: CO plates out of letters, strangeness on Voyager
I’ve noticed that our current standard license plate number/letter sequence is now on the letter “W” with only a few letters left. What is the plan from the DMV for a new sequence or even a completely new license plate design?
— Richard Johnson, Monument
ANSWER: Here we go: number, number, number, letter, letter, letter. That’s the current configuration on Colorado plates.
Mark Couch, who handles media relations for Colorado Department of Revenue, said that finishing up the W’s and then the end of the alphabet will go for about 2.8 years.
Then they will add the letter Q. The department had not used Q in the past, said Couch, because law enforcement said it looked too much like an O. In addition, the tail on the Q had also caused a design problem. Both issues were resolved and it will be 5.3 years before number, number, number, letter, letter, letter is used up.
Next up: they’ll switch to letter, letter, letter, number, number, number.
STRIPE MY STREET
I want to find out how to get an area on the striping list. The area in question is on Northgate Boulevard from Struthers Road to the North Gate of the Air Force Academy. There are remnants of lines but a fresh coat of paint would really help. It’s less than 1/2 mile of roadway.
— Keith Kane
ANSWER: If that area is within the city, call Signs and Markings, 385-6721
What’s happening on Voyager?
Something strange is happening on Voyager Parkway. The street is in beautiful shape but they’re repaving just a small area. Why?
— Dan
ANSWER: Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority and the City Street Division are testing recycled paving materials for durability and “ride characteristics.”
Starting Wednesday of this week, the city reported they were adding a one-inch layer (about 390 tons) of “Permeable Friction Course Terminal Blend Tire Rubber Asphalt.” “Since 2005, the City of Colorado Springs has used a total of 226 tons of liquid tire rubber from approximately 45,500 waste tires in its various paving programs.”
Two kinds of aggregate are being tested: the more-traditional granite from Cañon City, and slag, a by-product of Pueblo steel production which, when mixed with the liquid tire rubber, turns into a material with 96% recycled components.
Test sections are on Voyager from the south side of the Ridgeline Drive intersection and from the north side of the Jet Stream Drive intersection.
Hot Rod Cruise Nights
Hot rod show enthusiasts have been contacting us since we answered a question about Cruise-Ins. We got a call this week that the another Saturday show will start Aug. 14 at the parking lot of the former Grocery Warehouse on Austin Bluffs Parkway east of Academy Boulevard. Shows run 3 p.m. to about 9 p.m. The Cruise-In at Big Train restaurant is also on Saturdays.
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