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The TOSC Monthly Advocacy Report contains more information on current trails, open space and parks issues.
TOSC Advocacy Update, January 23, 2011 Bill Koerner
Incline:
Work continues on finalizing the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs for the Incline. COS City Council will discuss the draft IGA at the informal Council Meeting on Feb 13, and consider approval on Feb 28. The MS City Council will have a worksession on Feb 14, and consider approval on Feb 21. The MS/COG Railroad agreement on parking exchange and the COS/COG agreements could then be signed. The last step would be for the US Forest Service to issue the special use permit for the upper 1/3 of the Incline. A draft of the permit will be available in about a month. Having the agreements all in place would hopefully enable the donors waiting on the sidelines to step forward and contribute to the Incline implementation efforts. It appears that these agreements could be signed by May 1.
The 1-24 Gazette reported today, Jan 24, that the Incline would be opened on June 2. The MS Chamber of Commerce (I-Manitou) has scheduled large number of summer events, including the annual Wine Festival on June 2. The key issue for Manitou Springs is how to implement the paid and residential parking plan for Ruxton Ave. The Manitou Springs Parking Authority Board (MSPAB) voted unanimously on Jan 13 to recommend that MS City Council not sign the IGA until the consultant led parking implementation study is complete and the parking plans implemented. COS Parking staff has committed to working with MS Planning staff to assist in the parking implementation. A MS parking consultant will be on contract shortly. The consultant will draft residential parking permit regulations and predict the effect of paid parking on City sales tax collections. Field observations will be performed and neighborhood input will be sought. The MSPAB also would like to count Incline users in June to get a better sense of the Incline usage numbers in summer. It is unclear at this point what the MS City Council will do.
TOSC has suggested that MS sign the IGA as scheduled, include a firm schedule for completing their required parking plan and implementation tasks and commit to a big legalization/opening event in early fall.
The Incline Friends are having a membership fundraiser at Phantom Canyon, Cascade and Pikes Peak Avs, on Wednesday Jan 25, from 6-9pm. For a membership donation of $35, new Incline Friends will receive a sharp looking black and white short sleeve tech running shirt. Proceeds will go for matching funds for State Trails and GOCO grants to implement the Incline Site Development and Management Plan and for Incline maintenance.
Trail Connectivity
Colorado Springs has planned and is making some significant connections.
Pikes Peak Greenway:
- The pedestrian bridge has been installed across Monument Creek to bypass the Bijou low water crossing. TOSC urged that this be done as the 25 closure days a year was a huge increase over the previous 5 days a year. CSU participated in the bridge solution.
- A PPRTA resurfacing project from the Las Vegas low water crossing of Fountain Creek to the Martin Luther King US 24 bypass is under design
- A resurfacing project from the confluence of Monument and Cottonwood Creeks south to the I-25 bridge has been submitted to CDOT for concurrence
Cottonwood Creek Trail:
- The trail and pedestrian bridge next to the Vincent Drive road extension is on the PPRTA schedule starting fall ’12 or spring ’13. TOSC made a field trip to see this proposal in 1011.
- A new Academy Blvd. trail underpass is currently in the PPRTA-2 plans.
Sand Creek Trail:
The Las Vegas to Hancock connection is on hold pending a BNSF RR approval.
- The Barnes to Stetson Hill Blvd connection in the Old Farm area is substantially complete.
University Trail:
UCCS is moving the planned Greenway connection trail to provide a more direct connection to the Greenway. On a 2011 field trip, TOSC urged that this be done to reduce commuter time. It appears that UCCS building plans have been delayed. The northern trail at the base of the Pulpit Rock hills remains in the UCCS plans. We will know more in a month.
El Paso County Ute Pass Trail:
Phase 1 planning form Incline to Longs Ranch Road is proceeding. The county has asked for CSU and CDOT approval for the proposed trailhead at US 24.
Manitou Springs - Intemann Trail:
COS City Council approved Manitou Springs request for $60k TOPS open space match that would allow the missing link connection in the Intemann trail.
South Slope:
The December COS Parks Board recommendation to allocate TOPS funds for grant matches has not gone to City Council yet. At their December meeting, the Colorado Springs Parks Board approved the TOPS Working Committee recommendation to allocate $290k from the TOPS Parks category to match the $200k Fishing is Fun grant and to allocate $35k from the TOPS Trails category to match the $200k State Trails grant. The moneys will be used to build the fishing related facilities including an access road, parking lot, boat ramp, trailhead, and a restroom at Mc Reynolds Reservoir. At Mason Reservoir, a trailhead, parking lot and toilet facility will be built and the loop trail to Boehmer Reservoir will be finished. Implementation will begin in 2012 and it is possible that the South Slope will be open for the public in 2013. Guided hikes will continue in 2012.
Red Rock Canyon, Section 16 and White Acres (RRCOS) Master Plan:
The Master Plan process continues on hold so that a separate, consultant led ‘relationship building’ process to define friends and user group roles and City trails construction and maintenance standards can be implemented. This process has not been started as of Jan 23. These relationship roles and trail standards will be applied to the RRCOS Master Plan process when it is restarted.
Parks Solutions Team: Mayor Bach has formed a “Parks Solutions Team” to address COS parks issues and develop recommendations. This is to be done in the context of repurposing existing assets and resources to provide optimum services without raising taxes. The more specific team charges include: examine the size and ability to maintain parks, whether new parks such as Venezia should be built, examine further outsourcing of parks and recreation related functions, define what needs to be done differently, and define what privates and non-profits can do in partnership with the City. The team will also look at water costs for Parks. The 2012 Parks Budget includes $2.06M for water at a rate of $6/1000 gallons (treated water). The Parks Departments of some other Colorado cities receives water at a reduced rate or free. Richard Skorman is heading the team up and Susan and Kent Obee are members. The team will meet through March 2012 and the meetings are public.
Bicycle Infrastructure:
In-house funds will be made available to fund the creation of a new Bike and Trails Master Plan for Colorado Springs, which has a preliminary budget estimate of more than $100K. The plan will be put out for consultant bid with delivery in spring 2012. Open space and mountain biking trails would be included in the individual open space plans.
We have copies of the great new Colorado Springs Bike Map in the office. It’s in the bike shops too, and at $7.95 it’s well worth it.
Corral Bluffs:
Two TOPS applications were submitted by TOSC and the Corral Bluffs Alliance jointly for TOPS Working Committee consideration. Both applications propose using TOPS Open Space funding. The TOPS Working Committee will tour the application sites in the near future.
The first application will fill out major portions of the Corral Regional Open Space 3500 acre vision articulated in 2008. This vision includes connecting the existing 600 acres Corral Bluffs Open Space on the east with Jimmy Camp Creek Regional Park on the west near US 24 to create the regional open space. Recreational opportunities would be provided and the remaining parts of the Bluffs that were not included in the original 600 acre purchases, would be protected. Connections to the Rock Island and Sand Creek trails would now be possible. The second application proposes acquiring the Jimmy Camp Creek and tributary creek corridors to enable connecting the regional open space with the Front Range Trail in the City of Fountain.
TOPS:
TOSC initiated discussions have begun regarding TOPS future and how best to defend from being used again to help address the parks maintenance shortfalls in the 2012 and future COS city budgets. The two year increase in TOPS maintenance from 6% to 15% expires on Dec 30th 2012. Possible proposals include: just letting the increase to 15% expire and return to 6%, continuing the 15% maintenance until the end of the TOPS program in 2025, opening up the TOPS Parks category (20%) to allow use for maintenance of all parks including TOPS parks, revising the distribution formula between trails, open space and parks, increasing the 0.1 cent sales tax to provide more maintenance $s, instituting a maintenance of effort (MOE) for Parks, and any number of other proposals. From our experience with Sustainable (Great) Parks, we know that all $6M of TOPS revenue received each year would not solve the parks maintenance problem, and would leave us with an incomplete and disconnected trails system, with no new trails and open spaces for recreation and preservation and that parks would continue to receive less than satisfactory maintenance. COS Parks Department has identified the following unfunded needs: Parks renovation projects: $29M, Park construction: $85M, Trail construction and reconstruction: $179M, Candidate open space acquisition: $71M. Note that TOPS revenue at $6M//yr for the remaining life of the program is $78M. Parks staff has stated that 15% maintenance is not sufficient to properly maintain all TOPS parks.
TOPS was discussed at the last Parks Solutions Team meeting, where some of these proposals surfaced, but no recommendation has been formulated at this point. The Parks Solutions Team is operating under the requirement that no increase in taxes be considered.
Bluestem Prairie Open Space:
The longtime open space champion for what was once called Big Johnson, is interested in advocating for trail connections to the Front Range Trail (Greenway-New Santa Fe) and reforming the friends group. Bluestem is one of our orphan open spaces. She welcomes help from TOSC for both efforts. There is a great opportunity for partnerships.
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