Colorado Springs election: Ballot issues for roads, trails both pass by big margins
A city paving crew fixes a pothole-ridden
segment of Uintah Street west of 19th Street last May.
Westside Pioneer photo
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2C will allow a .62 percent sales tax over a five-year span that will be dedicated to road repairs and maintenance. The margin of victory was 65 to 35 percent.
2D will let the city keep $2.1 million in revenues from 2014 that exceeded the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) limits and spend the money on a specified list of trail improvements. The yes vs. no difference was even higher than for 2C at 71 to 29 percent.
The Westside can expect to see projects as a result of both measures passing.
While 2C did not include a formal list, about 300 street segments appear in a document marked as "Exhibit A" in the City Council resolution that put the item on the ballot. Of those, more than 30 have been identified on the Westside, including significant portions of 21st Street, 24th Street, 26th Street, 30th Street, Garden of the Gods Road, Mesa Road, Uintah Street and all the streets in the Garden of the Gods City Park.
One of the eight trails listed for upgrades in 2D is the Westside's Palmer-Mesa Trail, which basically parallels Mesa Road from 30th to Uintah streets.
City leaders had almost uniformly supported both ballot issues. The city was especially urging people to vote for 2C, based on the current situation in which only 2 percent of the city's roads are being resurfaced annually, when industry standards call for 10 percent.
A statement by Mayor John Suthers before the election read as follows: “City Council and I both recognize that the condition of our roads is the highest concern for residents of Colorado Springs. Sixty percent of our roads are in poor condition and in need of resurfacing or reconstruction, and we simply cannot make significant progress with current revenues.”
Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 11/3/15, updated 4/15/16;
Politics:
City/County)
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