UPDATE, September 23, 2014:
Colorado Springs City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Parks Master Plan, as amended after the public comment period. This is a huge win for parks! Thank you to all our friends and partners who called and emailed with comments on the draft plan, and support for the updated plan. Here is a link to the new Master Plan.
The comment period for the draft Parks Master Plan is now closed. Many groups and individuals shared comments with the City, and the open public process will help produce an improved plan. Parks Advisory Board will discuss the Plan August 14th; City Council takes it up at their meeting August 25th. Both groups will vote on the plan in September.
The Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Master Plan Draft is ready for your comments.

  • Download the draft Master Plan at this link, and send your comments to parksmasterplan@springsgov.com as soon as possible. The target date for closing public comment is July 23rd.

There’s a lot to read and consider, including some visionary proposals for solving some of the Parks Department’s biggest and most persistent problems.
It’s full of fascinating information about what we have, what we should add to make it better, how we should take care of it and how we might pay for it. You’ll find maps of candidate open spaces, critical trail connections, recreation trends and population projections. It compares us to other cities and makes an economic case for taking care of our parks. Here are some of the highlights.

  • Trails: The proposed trail additions would double our trail system to approximately 300 miles of trails. It includes the 9.75 mile Legacy Loop and a 54 mile loop trail around the city–“Ring the Springs”–as a signature attraction for residents and visitors. It also identifies 18 miles of immediate trail improvement projects.
  • Open Spaces: It identifies 20,360 acres of Candidate Open Space Areas within the City’s boundaries and almost 5,000 additional acres beyond city boundaries.
  • Urban Greenways: include trail and recreation uses in storm-water management on corridors like Fountain Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Monument Creek, Sand Creek and Lower Jimmy Camp Creek.
  • Funding: The plan looks at a variety of revenue streams including an increase in TOPS, bonds for capital projects, water rate reductions and a parks foundation.

Once adopted, an action plan will be created to begin the “heavy lifting.” TOSC, its members and partners will be key participants in that process.

Translate »