Colorado Springs Utilities hires consultant to direct efforts at opening the south slope of Pikes Peak for recreation uses
September 17, 2009
From The Colorado Springs Gazette (R. Scott Rappold):
City Council, sitting as the Colorado Springs Utilities Board, heard a presentation Wednesday on the progress of opening the 15,000-acre scenic area, which is home to several reservoirs. Utilities recently hired a consultant to consider multiple uses in the area, at the direction of an advisory group studying the issue, and a public meeting will be Sept. 29. The consultant, at a cost of $200,000, will help Utilities draw up a comprehensive environmental plan for recreation in the area, which will be presented to the council in the fall of 2010…
A 2007 plan, which stemmed from a 1999 document that provided for opening the watershed, called for building four trails. But now, many forms of recreation are under consideration, including hiking, bird watching, boating, camping, use by commercial outfitters, fishing, climbing, cross-country skiing, show-shoeing, horseback-riding and picnicking.
Utilities opened the North Slope of Pikes Peak, including reservoirs and hiking trails, to recreation in 1992.
The construction season is short because the South Slope is covered by snow eight months a year, so it is unknown when trails would be complete.
More Arkansas River Basin coverage here.
