COLORADO SPRINGS — Nearly 80% of Colorado Springs voters said yes to extending the Trails, Open Space and Parks Tax (TOPS).
“You know, 80% margin, who wins anything by 80% these days,” said Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, “They obviously love our parks, they think this is a great investment.”
The one cent on every ten dollars TOPS tax helps with the purchase of land for open space and parks.
“This is important infrastructure, like anything else. We do need to invest in it. We do need to take care of it. We do need to grow it because we're a growing city,” said Trails and Open Space Coalition, Executive Director, Susan Davies.
It is an important piece in the current trend with people moving to the area in part because they enjoy the outdoors.
“Whether we want it or not, [we are] growing. So, we have to accommodate that growth,” said TOPS Working Committee Chair, Bob Falcone, “The only way to do it is to keep getting more places, and developing more places for people to go hike, and recreate and have a good time.”
The win for the TOPS tax is a win for Falcone.
He is known by many as Hiking Bob, the guy who knows local trails and open spaces and gives reviews on his website.
“I think about all the places that I go hike and so many other people go hike that would not be there. If this top program didn't exist.”
In our current political climate clashes are far more common than agreements.
Support for parks and open space in Colorado Springs seems an exception.
“The beauty of parks, it is not political. It is not Democrats, Republicans, you know, you have people of all persuasions that use and love your parks and that that's we heard,” said Davies.
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