COLORADO SPRINGS — The Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services held its final in person meeting to get community input on the proposed expansion of the Blodgett Open Space.
The City of Colorado Springs first purchased the Blodgett Open Space through the City of Colorado Springs Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) program and funding in March 2001. Additional land was incorporated in 2018, allowing for the expansion of trails and a parking lot.
On Tuesday, more than 150 people weighed in on the proposed expansion of the Blodgett Open Space. The popular hiking area is off Woodman Road on the northwest side of Colorado Springs.
People listened to a presentation regarding the Blodgett Open Space expansion plan. People who attended then got in groups to list out their concerns, top properties, and what they would like to be included in the expansion.
Parking, security, and effects on wildlife were some of the top concerns. The majority of people said they want more trails in the open space, but they have many questions on how it is going to affect their neighborhood.
According to David Deitemeyer, the Colorado Springs Parks Senior Landscape Architect, one focus of the open space is to protect the area's natural habit, and to create an unique trail system.
“Trails are meant to protect the land and the resource, it directs where people can and can't go and that alone will help to improve the habitat and those resources on the property,” Deitemeyer said.
The city's parks department wants to expand the open space further south, along the PikeView Quarry and Allegheny Road. The draft master plan also had ideas for a dog area, a nature park, and even places for para-gliders to land, but there were mixed opinions among residents about those additions.
One main concern has been parking. Currently, Blodgett Open Space has two parking lots, a north and south one.
“Parking is certainly a very localized concern we are very serious about and we want to address that,” Deitemeyer said.
The two current parking lots are small, and the north parking lot has some street parking along Woodman Road.
“For the north one we are looking at how we can just expand that slightly to the west, just slightly,” Deitemeyer said.
The proposed plan is to make the parking lots bigger and add a third lot on the south west side. An additional parking lot would create a third trailhead.
North Trailhead continues to be called North Trailhead. South Trailhead would change to Orchard Trailhead and the new trailhead, located further south, would be referred to as Quarry Trailhead.
“We really focus on developing a new trail head closer to the quarry, on a piece of property we required as open space but it was already disturbed. So by expanding that parking lot we can provide a central location to direct users to, that is away from the neighborhoods that would promote a more appreciative use and respectful relationship with the neighborhood, so we can work together,” Deitemeyer said.
The proposed expansion also has some trails to separate mountain bikers from hikers.
“The downhill biker can experience the trail without the worry about an uphill hiker, a dog off the leash or a biker coming up,” Deitemeyer said.
This creates a variety of multi and single use traits. The idea of having some separate trails for hikers and bikers was an idea many residents say they like, including Rory Lewis, who lives near Blodgett Open Space.
“We really like the fact that there will be the mountain bike trail going uphill and we will be able to have advanced mountain biking going down,” Lewis said.
The expansion could also include multiple small and large hiking loops, which would be accessible from each parking lot.
The parks department hopes to have a completed draft of the master plan by December. People can learn more information about the proposal plan, see a map of the open space, and check out the project's fact sheet on the park's website.
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