A local government study looking at the
future of roads in the area has some bad news for commuters.
Without significant investment in transportation infrastructure,
the commute from Woodland Park to downtown Colorado Springs, now
estimated at around forty minutes, is expected to almost double in
the next thirty years, to 78 minutes. While I'm not sure I agree
with the logic here, it does highlight how growing populations
countrywide require conitual expansion of transportation
infrastructure. You can read more in the Gazette.
The developers for the Hampton Inn portion
of Woodland Station knew their proposal was risky, as it violated
the lot size and arrangement the city had laid out for them (see this story for more details and pictures).
Well, it's been rejected, and the developers have been asked to go
back to the drawing board and come up with a design that will fit
the original footprint. Having been present at the original
presentation meeting, it's clear the developers have a very
difficult task ahead of them, though the main detail seemed to be
with above ground parking. It's likely a revised proposal would
include very little space for that, due to lot layout constraints,
posing a problem for people with bike racks, roof-mounted luggage
carriers, and trailers (since they'd have a hard time parking in
the underground parking garage). We'll have to wait and see how
creative the developers can get and if they can find a way around
this issue.
The city's downtown development authority meets Tuesdays at 7:30AM
in the Woodland Park City Council chambers and the public is
welcome to attend.
A couple weeks ago, police responded to
reports of an attempted robery at the City Market pharmacy, and
shot and killed the suspect (see this previous story). As a follow up,
investigators have determined that the police officers were
justified in using deadly force, and we're now have more details
of this incident. Jennifer Freis reportedly pointed a .22 caliber
revolver at a store employee and demanded drugs and syringes,
saying she needed the drugs to control pain caused by cancer. When
police arrived, she pointed the revolver at them and ignored orders
to drop the weapon. (more at the Denver Post)
Police departments in the Pikes Peak
region were unusually quiety Monday evening, which just happened to
coincide with one heck of a ballgame as the Rockies defeated the
Padres in extra innings to make it into the playoffs, the Gazette reports. It'll be interesting to
see how or if this trend continues as they progress (hopefully)
over the coming weeks. Their first game is Wednesday at 1:00
(they'll be up against the Phillies).
As you know, in fall the changing aspen
leaves provide for some great scenery. Anyone who was out driving
this weekend saw the result - swarms of cars passing through town
heading for the hills. While there are plenty of great places to
see the fall colors west of here, there are also some very close
and easy drives worth doing. This time of year, highway 67 to
Cripple Creek is full of changing aspen (see the pictures below),
though our favorite is highway 81 to Victor. The leaves there have
not yet reached their peak, but it's still impressive even now. To
get there, take highway 67 towards Cripple Creek, and follow the
signs to Victor. It'll be a left turn after you come out of the
twisty section of road and the speed limit bumps back up to 50 or
so. The road is well paved and, if you desire, you can continue on
to Cripple Creek though if you're after scenery I wouldn't bother
(unless your idea of scenery is massive modern mining operations).
The pictures below are all from highway 67, taken last Friday.
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