El Paso County Planning Commission, Dec. 7 – Access plan for Hwy 83 addresses safety

By Helen Walklett

At the Dec. 7 El Paso County Planning Commission meeting, the commissioners received a presentation of the proposed Access Control Plan (ACP) for the stretch of Highway 83 from its junction with Powers Boulevard to County Line Road, a length of almost 10 miles.

The county’s Department of Public Works, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the City of Colorado Springs have worked together to develop the plan. CDOT led the work because it owns and maintains the corridor.

Future traffic volumes along this portion of highway are expected to increase in the range of 17% to 86% by 2045. Without changes, this increase is expected to result in increased delays, congestion, pollution, and crashes. The ACP is a long-range plan aimed at improving safety and mobility.

Arthur Gonzalez, CDOT, explained that the plan optimizes the location, number, and types of access to the highway to improve safety by reducing the number of locations where all types of road users might come into conflict. It provides adequate access for adjacent properties while better using the local road system. It is also a tool to help the county, the city, and CDOT make access decisions during development and redevelopment, and streamlines the access permitting process.

Gonzalez said there are currently 72 individual access points along this section of highway. Thirty percent are public streets and 70% are private driveways and most allow for full movement, meaning there are no turn restrictions, allowing potentially dangerous situations to arise. Some access points could be closed or consolidated under the plan, but no changes are currently planned.

The plan was developed with public input, and Gonzalez said it addresses concerns raised by stakeholders. These include speeding, noise, and number of large trucks, lack of turn lanes, safety around the Stagecoach Road intersection, and a need for more traffic signals. Although the plan does not address speed limits, Jason Nelson, CDOT, said that to address excessive speeding instead of just committing to signalizing intersections, CDOT was committing to roundabouts.

Nelson said, “There’s a lot of benefits to installing roundabouts on 83. It’s a residential corridor. Commercial is starting to get sprinkled in there but we’re hoping to get ahead of that and maintain that residential feel so a bunch of roundabouts I think will divert truck drivers, I really do.” Nelson said a roundabout at the intersection Highway 83 and County Line Road had been designed but there was currently no funding earmarked for such a project.

The plan itself does not identify specific projects. Changes would come only if a problem with traffic flow or safety came to light, properties were developed or redeveloped along the corridor, or state or federal funding for a roadway project comes forward (none has been identified at present).

This session was for informational purposes only. A request to adopt the ACP and incorporate it into the county’s master plan will come at a second session during the Jan. 18 Planning Commission meeting.

Helen Walklett can be reached at helenwalklett@ocn.me.

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