In April, representatives of El Paso County’s Public Services Department (formerly the Department of Transportation) held meetings in the northern part of the county to hear residents’ opinions on transportation needs through 2040.At the April 19 Falcon meeting, Everett Bacon, project manager from LSA Associates, a consulting company hired by the county to conduct the assessment; said their goal is to develop a prioritized list of transportation projects.Bacon said the cost of building roads has been increasing because of competition for resources from China, Russia and India. “They’re gobbling up all the steel and concrete that’s out there,” he said.At the same time, people are getting more miles per gallon than 30 years ago, while the tax on a gallon of gasoline has stayed the same at 40 cents per gallon.”In terms of wear and tear, you’re still using the road the same way you were 30 years ago, but paying less in gas tax,” Bacon said. “If you’re driving a hybrid or electric car, you’re paying even less for the roads you’re using. So, our ability to fund transportation has deteriorated significantly at a time when it’s extremely difficult politically to raise the gas tax, but it needs to be raised to $1.”Fifteen years after construction, the pavement quality of a new road has declined by 40 percent; and, by the 17th year, there’s been another 40 percent decline in quality.The county spends 50 to 70 percent of its total transportation revenues on maintenance, he said.Transportation planner Pam Podhirny said the county maintains more than 2,000 miles of road.El Paso County’s population is growing about two times faster than the national growth rate of about 1 percent, Bacon said. The population in the unincorporated areas is growing three times faster than the national growth rate.Falcon is one of three major growth areas in unincorporated El Paso County.The fastest growing age group is persons age 65 and over. On average, men and women live six years and 10 years, respectively, after they quit driving; and the county needs to plan for their transportation needs, he said.Attendees were divided into three work groups for the remainder of the meeting. Each work group was given a budget of $65 million and asked to spend the money on their idea of the highest priority projects in the Falcon area through 2040.Making those decisions proved difficult given that the state – not the county – has jurisdiction over Highway 24. And laws make it difficult for the state and county to work together, Podhirny said.Many were concerned about future east-west connections between Banning Lewis Ranch, which is in Colorado Springs, and major city streets, such as Dublin Boulevard and Barnes Road.Colorado Springs is planning for those connections, Podhirny said, adding that the county and city work well together.When the three work groups revealed their priorities, they were somewhat similar:
- Widen Meridian Road from Rex Road to Hodgen Road to four lanes
- Connect the west end of Stapleton Road to Briargate Parkway; several wanted to complete the connection of the east end of Stapleton Road to Curtis Road for easy access to Schriever Air Force Base
- Improve Hodgen Road to Meridian Road, but keep it as a two-lane road
- Improve Falcon Highway from Highway 24, working eastward
