In June, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners set July 21 as the day the board will decide the fate of planned improvements for the intersection of Black Forest Road and Burgess Road.The county had planned a $1.5 million improvement project for the intersection until Black Forest residents voiced their opposition in April, after survey markers appeared.At the BOCC meeting June 2, county engineer Andre Brackin said the county had already spent $34,872 of an $184,222 contract with TRS Inc., the company hired to do property acquisition for the project.Twenty parcels will be affected if the county’s original redesign of the intersection goes forward.Brackin said TRS is still doing appraisals on those 20 parcels and recommended that the BOCC allow the completion of the appraisal process, for a total of $60,000. The appraisal process includes paying for any appraisals the affected property owners desire, which should be good for a year, he said.The BOCC voted unanimously to proceed with the full appraisal process and then stop work on the project until the commissioners vote in July.By July 21, the county engineer should have a new redesign based on discussions among Black Forest residents, the county’s Highway Advisory Commission and the transportation department.The ability to reach a consensus on a final redesign depends on how strictly the county sticks to road-design standards adopted in the past few years, said Judy von Ahlefeldt, who organized Black Forest opposition to the redesign, as well as community meetings to discuss alternative redesigns.If the intersection had been redesigned 10 years ago when the signal was put in, before all these rules, there could have been left-turn lanes and a smaller right of way, von Ahlefeldt said.”We have a problem to solve,” she said. “Let’s find the most efficient way to do it, regardless of what the national rules might be, as long as it’s reasonable and safe.”
