City backs long-term transportation plan

The Colorado Springs City Council on Monday gave informal approval to a long-range regional transportation plan that stresses maintaining roads and strengthening mass transit rather than embarking on new, expensive road projects.

Council members did put an unexpected spin on their endorsement of what is called the 2035 Regional Transportation Plan: They said a plan to extend Constitution Avenue from Paseo Road to Interstate 25 — hugely controversial when it was proposed about a decade ago — should be considered sometime after 2020.

Several council members said they didn’t believe they should dictate to future councils what transportation projects they should consider.

The 2035 plan was created by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments after a series of public surveys and public meetings involving about 1,400 people.

In some ways, the plan is simply an update of earlier long-range transportation plans for the region. But it is an important planning document, officials say, because road and transit projects must be included in the plan if they are to receive state or federal funding.

Craig Casper, transportation director for the council of governments, said the plan includes about $12 billion in road, transit and nonmotorized projects. The plan anticipates there will be about $5 billion available for those needs, with most of that spent long before 2035 rolls around.

Still, he said, that gap in funding is much smaller than in other regions in the state, thanks in part to a one-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2004 for transportation projects.

Casper said many of the major road projects included in the last transportation plan have been built or are now being built. He said this latest plan anticipates three major projects for the region: a U.S. Highway 24 bypass through Woodland Park, an extension of Powers Boulevard north to Interstate 25 and the extension of Constitution Avenue to Interstate 25.

He said based on residents’ input, the council of governments created a plan that emphasizes maintaining the region’s roads and bridges and enhancing mass transit opportunities.

For instance, the plan calls for a feasibility study for some sort of rapid transit from downtown through the city’s busiest travel corridors.

It envisions call-and-ride bus service and expanded fixed-route bus service for the northern and eastern part of the region, including Rockrimmon and Black Forest.

The plan also calls for spending money on easing intersection congestion and creating a signal system that keeps traffic flowing, even as area roads grow more congested because of growth.

The plan covers road and transit projects in El Paso County and the cities of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls and Woodland Park.

The board of the council of governments, composed of elected leaders from each of those governments, will consider the plan at a meeting March 12. The plan must be submitted to the federal Highway Administration by March 18.

To view the voluminous 2035 Regional Transportation Plan, visit http://www.ppacg.org.