Folks in Stratmoor Hills, an unincorporated  neighborhood sandwiched between Fort Carson and Colorado Springs aren’t the complaining type.

Stratmoor Hills in a 2009 photo by The Gazette's Carol Lawrence

They are used to living on the doorstep of the massive Army post and for decades have put up with the inconveniences of heavy traffic, payday loan and pawn shops, as well as strip clubs that cluster just outside the gates.

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But they are unhappy about Fort Carson’s plans for a new railroad spur that will run 4,200 feet into their neighborhood, past their Stratmoor Hills Elementary School.

Here’s a look at preliminary plans from FlashEarth.

The spur is part of a $14 million project by the Army Corps of Engineers to expand the 70-acre Fort Carson railyard by adding five to eight spurs to quicken the deployment of troops.

The spur planned for the neighborhood would run along existing tracks, which connect to the main line along Monument Creek. It would allow the Army to temporarily store 44 rail cars during a loading/unloading process.

Neighbors fear the Army will store cars on the spur routinely, attracting graffiti vandals and forcing neighbors to look at the cars, which run 95 feet each in length.

The Army promises no cars will be parked on the spur more than 24 hours and the spur will actually shorten the amount of time cars in in the neighborhood now.

Plus, the Army said it will be safer for children going to school because it will build a new pedestrian overpass and close an existing foot path over the tracks.

Here’s a briefing paper the Army prepared for the neighborhood. However, plans have changed significantly since it was drafted. For example, a second spur into the neighborhood, mentioned in the plan, has been dropped.

In May, the Army is expected to begin an environmental impact assessment related to the project.

 Fort Carson spokeswoman Dee McNutt said that is the best time for neighbors to voice their concerns about the project. She said public comment is a major component of the assessment and taken very seriously.

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