.png)
No Road Expansions Planned for the west side through 2034.
Summary of PPRTA-3 Meeting We Were Asked to Attend
Westside Watch was asked to attend the PPRTA-3 meeting. The PPRTA is the Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority which plans our road network infrastructure. This meeting which was co-chaired by Councilman Wayne Williams and Commissioner Holly Williams, (by the way, did you know they are married? Yep. Does all that power concentrated in a married couple bother you? It bothers us.), was to discuss a $1 billion tax to be placed on the November 2022 ballot for the funds to complete road infrastructure work through 2034. Westside Watch Founder, Dana Duggan, joined this called and during and following asked why, amidst the explosive growth, there are no expansions of the road network in the Broadmoor/Skyway/Cheyenne Area. She noted she has lived here 18 years and seen no road network expansions. Meanwhile, the Broadmoor hotel expanded, the zoo expanded, 7 Falls expanded, the Broadmoor Convention Center expanded, Creekwalk Shopping center was added, Nevada high frequency businesses have been added, Gold Hill Mesa has been added with additional expansion underway and a plan to build a "mini-downtown" at Gold Hill Mesa (Highway 24 & Cresta/21st). These expansions are at critical choke points. Not only that, the only infrastructure noted for the area is a traffic circle at Cheyenne Road and 8th street. Traffic circles slow traffic. The world evacuation experts testified to City Council that "all the Cheyennes are a problem for evacuation." Who is running this show? This is grossly irresponsible. It's the City's job to grow our road network to support all this development. This is exactly why we need the CET-Public & Life Safety Ordinance because our leadership cannot seem to do the right thing inependently. We have asked Mr. & Mrs. Williams for answers and will let you know if/when we hear anything. We were promised answers during the call, but it was deflected to Public Works Director Travis Easton who just does what the politicians tell him to do (not his fault). Incredible, isn't it? Meanwhile, you can see the list and map below:
Vote No on 7a, the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority tax for road capital improvements.
Here's why:
1. No evacuation modeling or planning was part of this effort.
2. No road ingress/egress through 2034 for the entire westside of the city where evacuation times are already far too dangerous per world experts we brought in to testify to the city and city council which they completely ignored. Back in 2010, when the city believed in the science of evacuation modeling, that study showed, for example, a level of service failure (this means total gridlock and more police, which was our fire chiefs answer to that problem, will not fix that problem as they cannot lift the cars) in evacuations at Highway 24, I25 and stated that Lake Ave, W Cheyenne Mountain Blvd could not sustain evacuation traffic among many other major red flags throughout the city. This is unacceptable and needs to be addressed before voters approve a $1 billion tax to lock in our capital improvements to our road capacity through 2034.
3. $105 million to pretty-up 2 miles of roadway on Nevada for developers. They admitted it is 2x the actual costs which is still outrageous for what it is.
4. Wayne Williams (current City Councilmember running for mayor), and his wife, Holly Williams (current County Commissioner running for another term) co-chaired this $1 billion tax. We were asked to sit in on a few of these meetings and were shocked to see this enormous power being concentrated in one married couple's hands and believed the other members are put at grave disadvantage in negotiating aspects to be included or excluded because of this ethically compromising dynamic. We think it should be made illegal to allow this concentration of power.
5. We have plenty of time to get it right. We will have a new mayor in April 2023. Let him/her take the time to get this right.
Vote no on 7A. Lives depend on it.
These efforts, unfortunately, are not free. It costs time and money to follow these issues and keep the public informed. Thanks to all who have so kindly given. Please do give, and we make it easy to do with just a click: