Colorado College
Transportation Master Plan
April 2013 - In This Issue:
Cascade at night

Next Working Group Meeting: Wed., May 1 in Palmer Hall

Date: Wednesday, May 1

Time: 4 to 5:30 p.m. 

Location:

Gates Common Room (3rd floor) in Palmer Hall, 1025 N. Cascade (east of Tutt Library). Entrance to parking is off Uintah.

 

For special meeting accommodations:  call 719-488-5908 or notify us by email, [email protected]

 

During this fifth Stakeholder Working Group meeting (open to the public), the technical team will summarize all input received to date and present a synopsis of the draft recommendations. 

 

Public feedback on the recommendations is welcome. "We want to stress that the public vetting process is not yet over," said Tim Siebert, project manager with N.E.S. "What we have at this point is a recommendation based on all the public and Working Group input received to date. 

 

It has yet to be vetted by the public through the Citizen's Transportation Advisory Board (CTAB) before being presented to the City Planning Commission this summer.

 

 

Recommendations to be Vetted with Public: 
Draft Plan Presented to CTAB Tuesday, May 7

An extensive community involvement process for the Colorado College Transportation Master Plan has involved Stakeholder Working Group meetings, which were open to the public; community/citizen interviews; and, a community open house hosted during the past six months. 

 

The technical team is drafting recommendations to address mobility and safety through and around the Colorado College campus based on community values and community vision established by stakeholders and the public. The team also is considering input received input from: 

* Citizens 

* Businesses

* Working Group

* Community leader surveys 

* City staff 

* Representatives from the college and student body 

 

The draft recommendations will include a traffic analysis of the road system, establishing existing and future projected traffic volumes. 

 

The draft recommendations is in review by City staff for cost implications, feasibility and technical acceptance and will be presented to the Citizens Transportation Advisory Board (CTAB) during its regular meeting at 1:30 p.m., May 7, at City Hall, 107 N. Nevada. 

 

CTAB anticipates scheduling a community meeting to further vet the plan with the public (date yet to be determined). To be notified once the CTAB community meeting has been scheduled, send an email to [email protected]

 

Contact Us

Email:

[email protected]

 

Project website:

www.coloradocollege.edu/transportationplan

 

Project Team

The college has contracted with the local land planning and urban design firm of N.E.S. Inc. to lead the seven-month study. The project team includes:  

 

Project Manager:

N.E.S., Inc.

Tim Seibert

 

Public Involvement:

Bachman pr

Lisa Bachman, APR 

Barry Grossman, APR 

 

Stakeholders Recommend Mobility, Safety Improvements During February Workshop
Todd Frisbie of Felsburg Holt & Ullevig discusses traffic issues with stakeholders.

 About 40 citizens and stakeholders participated in a fourth Working Group meeting Feb. 26 at Colorado College's Armstrong Hall to analyze options for improving mobility and safety through and around the campus. The workshop included breakout sessions to review and discuss three transportation and safety options. The breakout sessions were followed by a larger group discussion as each of the three smaller groups shared their recommendations. In the end, participants reached general consensus on several of the potential options that support the study's goals and objectives, recognizing that feasibility and funding still need to be considered. While there was not complete consensus by the Working Group on all options, there was informed consent that any option that slows traffic speeds through the campus and through adjacent neighborhood streets will improve driver and pedestrian safety in this area of Colorado Springs. 

 

 

General consensus: The Working Group supports the study's system-wide approach and any options that slow traffic through the campus and surrounding neighborhoods while also further integrating Colorado College as part of the community.

Stakeholder Feedback, Recommendations

The Feb. 26 workshop resulted in the following overall recommendations and observations by the participating stakeholders The complete workshop summary is available on the study's website.

 

Grade Separated: bridge/tunnel options

* A bridge over Cascade Ave. was not recommended due to aesthetics, costs, and practicality. Structures create barriers between the community and the college and are too expensive.

* A tunnel 

Tim Roberts, with the City of Colorado Springs, and stakeholders discuss traffic calming options.

under Cascade Ave. was also poorly received and not recommended due to cost, practicality and safety concerns.

* Students wouldn't use a bridge or a tunnel and both go against the culture in Colorado Springs. Pedestrian/vehicle accident figures are too low to consider a bridge or tunnel. Participants also oppose the loss of trees necessary to build bridges or tunnels.

 

System-wide transportation options

* Stakeholder overall preferences include anything that will slow traffic system-wide through the campus and the surrounding streets and anything that integrates Colorado College as part of the community.

* Stakeholders liked the approach of reducing lanes on sections of several streets surrounding the campus. They support the community-/system-wide approach of the study noting concerns that if traffic on one street were slowed too much, it might shift traffic to other streets in the system. However, they also recognized that there is ample remaining capacity on the all the surrounding roads.

* Stakeholders generally liked the option of reducing Cascade Ave. to one lane in each direction as long as reducing lanes on surrounding streets is also considered.

* There was support for: a pedestrian stop light at Tejon and Uintah streets; road dieting for Cascade Ave. and the streets surrounding the campus; accommodating bicycles/increasing the number of bike lanes; and narrowing the lane widths on Nevada Ave. north to Penrose Hospital to change the culture of the road.

* Additional recommendations: improve turning on Fontanero St., by reducing it from 4 to 3 lanes; add diagonal parking on Weber Street to improve parking at Steele Elementary school; and remove some of the crosswalks on Cascade Ave. (on campus) to improve safety and mobility. 

 

Traffic calming options

* Group consensus was that the priority should be on neighborhood safety and slowing traffic. Road narrowing and bump outs to decrease speeds were recommended. Speed bumps on arterials were not recommended because they impede emergency vehicles.

* Improved lighting was favorably received; however, lamppost styles should be more conducive to the historic aspect of the neighborhood. Ensure that crosswalks are well lighted to illuminate pedestrians and brightly painted to remain visible.

* There was support for adding "State Law" signs at crosswalks and using diagonal crosswalks to enhance pedestrian safety; adding bike lanes and incorporating, diagonal and parallel parking.

Transportation Master Plan Goals and Objectives

Transportation Master Plan Goal:

To address immediate and long-term safety and mobility of all who travel through and around the campus 

 

Objectives:  

Through a Stakeholder Working Group and public input, the plan will be informed by:� Conducting a collaborative process involving stakeholder representatives of Colorado College (faculty and administration), college student body, City of Colorado Springs, neighborhoods, businesses and other community interests

 

� Analyzing current conditions for mobility and safety for all users within and around the Colorado College campus

� Identifying and Evaluating conflict areas that present challenges to mobility and safety

� Recommending future improvements balancing the needs and interest of the campus, the City of Colorado Springs, as well as those of neighborhoods and the community