The Colorado Springs Comprehensive Plan Is Organized Into Seven Policy Chapters, With

A.Chapter 3: Transportation

Objectives in the Comprehensive Plan

The Transportation Chapter describes a vision for the City’s future transportation system that provides residents with a range of transportation choices. There are three objectives in this Chapter, which are listed by headings as follows.

T 1:Transportation Planning and Mobility

T 2:Maintain Livability

T 3:Implementing Transportation Projects

Projects

There are numerous projects underway that support the achievement of the objectives in the Transportation Chapter. Directly related projects are listed below, and others closely associated are located in other sections of this report, including the traffic-calming project (B.3 Neighborhoods Section) and the spatial framework for infrastructure growth planning (D.2 Community Infrastructure Section). The mixed-use zone district will also have a positive effect on objectives related to transportation, in that providing opportunities for mixed land uses in close proximity will allow choices for residing, working, shopping, recreating without the need to drive. See the Land Use Section (A.1) and the Mixed-use project Status Report in Appendix A for more detail.

1. The Intermodal Transportation Plan (ITP) was adopted in April 2001 and the goals and objectives complement those expressed in the Comprehensive Plan. The ITP is a companion plan to the Comprehensive Plan, in terms of detailed transportation planning. The City Public Works Department implements the ITP, which in turn implements the Comprehensive Plan. (T 1, T 2,

T 3)

2.The East West Mobility Study, an amendment to the Intermodal Transportation Plan, was approved in August 2002. The study makes recommendations in three general areas: transportation management systems, transit and roadway improvements. These are actions to improve east-west travel in the community. The work on the East-West Mobility Study was begun in mid-1999. Citizens were actively engaged in consensus building during the study, and over 170 citizens participated in the Citizens Resource Group, which met 24 times over 18 months. An outgrowth of the East West Mobility Study is the formation of the Citizens’ Transportation Advisory Board (CTAB), that was formed in 2002. The CTAB will advise the City on policy matters and the implementation of major transportation initiatives. (T 1, T 2, T 3)

1. The Transit Plan has been adopted as a guide for the City transit system for the next 25 years and also serves to fulfill Federal Transportation Administration requirements. The plan has three major objectives:

a)Move the service structure away from the hub and spoke system to a grid system with loop routes to connect the suburban area to the grid.

b)Study the implementation of express bus service associated with park and ride lots and the establishment of rapid transit corridors.

c)Development of fiscally innovative financial tools.

The Transit Plan was initiated in September 2000 and approved in August 2002 as an amendment to the ITP. (T 1, T 2, T 3)

4.The Regional Transportation Plan (Destination 2025: A Mobility Plan for the Pikes Peak Region) was completed by Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments in 2001.The plan helps maintain local government eligibility for federal funding of multi-modal transportation system improvements. It is designed to be a balanced approach to implement roadway, public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian projects. It contains estimates of transportation funding from public and private sources through 2025, and identifies and prioritizes transportation projects to be implemented over the next 24 years. (T 1, T 2, T 3)

Indicators.

There are four indicators that have been established to provide specific measures that bear a direct relationship to accomplishing transportation objectives. The information provided in the indicators will be summarized, and the complete set of data is provided in Appendix C.

Indicator 8: Number of Motor Vehicles Registered Per Capita in El Paso County

Policy Addressed: T 102: Transportation System Goals

Strategy Addressed: See below

Discussion:

The number of motor vehicles registered per capita in El Paso County provides a general measurement of reliance on automobiles within El Paso County. The indicator has indirect linkages to the majority of travel demand strategies, such as creating a balanced system (T 102a), utilizing travel forecasts (T 102b), developing level of service standards (T 102c), identifying transportation system needs (T 102d), and transportation system improvement considerations (T 102h). However, this indicator is a good candidate for further refinement due to its breadth; if disaggregated by Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ), the indicator becomes more useful.

From 1997 through 2000, the growth in the number of vehicles in El Paso County exceeded the rate of growth in population. By the end of 2000 there were 78,600 more vehicles in the county than there were persons. The benchmark of 1.2 vehicles per person may be used as a very broad measure to gauge progress in providing viable alternative to automobile transportation in the region.

Source: Demography Section, CO Division of Local Government

Indicator 9: Traffic Level Of Service (LOS) on Selected Arterial Links

Policy Addressed: T 203: Travel Demand Management

Strategy Addressed: See Below

Discussion:

Traffic level of service is a measure of congestion on selected arterial streets. This indicator is relevant to identifying the effectiveness of numerous strategies aimed at reducing congestion generated by peak-hour, single-occupant commuting. Over time, this data will be useful in monitoring travel conditions in the community, travel demand management and effectiveness of transportation planning.

This indicator is a new data collection effort for the City, and collection will begin this year. Counts will be taken every year, and capacities will be assessed so that a level of service can be determined. Eight locations have been chosen for arterial street traffic counts, four on major north-south routes and four on major east-west routes:

North/South

I-25: Bijou to Uintah

Powers Blvd: South of Woodmen

Union Blvd.: North of Austin Bluffs

Academy: North of Austin Bluffs

East/West

Garden of the Gods: West of I-25

Woodmen Road: I-25 to Academy

Platte: West of Circle

Fountain Blvd: West of Powers

Indicator 10: Number of Miles of Streets with Bike Lanes per 1,000 Persons

Policy Addressed: See below

Strategy Addressed: See below

Discussion:

The number of linear miles of bike lanes is a measure of an alternative transportation mode. The indicator is relevant to identifying the effectiveness of numerous strategies aimed at providing alternate modes of travel. These strategies cross every transportation objective and most policies and include identifying long-term needs (T 101a), creating a balanced system (T 102a), developing level of service standards (T 102c), identifying transportation system needs (T 102d), transportation system improvement considerations (T 102h), linking neighborhoods (T 103b), integrating regional and local transportation systems (T 104b), bicycle safety (T 201e), improving mobility options (T 202a), incorporating non-motorized transportation facilities (T 202c), encouraging the use of alternative transportation options (T 203b), and improving the transportation system (T 301a).

This indicator measures only the miles of on-street bicycle lanes and does not take into account on-street bike routes or trails. Thus, the indicator is currently focused on the commuter transportation aspect of bicycle travel as part of the city’s overall inter-modal transportation system. This indicator will be expanded in subsequent years to include the bicycle routes and off street bike system in order to capture a broader spectrum of bicycle travel in the city. It will also give a more complete picture of the bicycle commuting network.

Although the linear miles of on-street bike lanes have doubled in the city between 1997 and 2000, as an overall component of the inter-modal transportation system, they remain very minor at 17.2 miles, a twentieth of a mile per capita. These figures may be taken as a benchmark for comparison for progress in integrating bicycle travel into the city’s transportation system.

Sources: Demography Section, CO Division of Local Government

City Public Works Department

Indicator 11: Number of Bus Riders

Policy Addressed: See below

Strategy Addressed: See below

Discussion:

The number of bus riders by transit route is another measure of an alternative transportation mode. The indicator is relevant to identifying the effectiveness of numerous strategies aimed at providing alternate modes of travel. These strategies cross every transportation objective and most policies, including identifying long-term needs (T 101a), creating a balanced system (T 102a), developing level of service standards (T 102c), identifying transportation system needs (T 102d), transportation system improvement considerations (T 102h), integrating regional and local transportation systems (T 104b), improving mobility options (T 202a), encouraging the use of alternative transportation options (T 203b), and improving the transportation system (T 301a).

From 1998 through 2000 total transit ridership increased by 379,853 or almost 14%. The average annual rate of increase in ridership was close to 7% per year. These figures may be used as benchmarks to evaluate progress toward achieving a more balanced citywide transportation system.

Source: City Transit System