The Hillside Plaza has seen better days. Better decades, actually.

It was built in 1958 on South Hancock Avenue, near Costilla Street and the entrance to Memorial Park and Prospect Lake.

It has been an institution in the Hillside Neighborhood.

In the 1980s, a young minister and neighborhood organizer, Promise Lee, envisioned it as the centerpiece for his efforts to drive crime and criminals out of the neighborhood and revitalize the area.

Fred Bland

So he convinced some of the elders in the neighborhood to back his plan. Federal grants were obtained and he raised money from neighbors, like well-respected longtime Hillside resident Fred Bland, and buy the center.

The idea was to create a small-business incubator for minority entrepreneurs who might not be able to find a reasonable commercial rent.  

The Hillside Plaza on South Hancock Avenue was built in 1958 and has been the focus of neighborhood revitalization in the 1980s and a power struggle in 2005.

A liquor store, barber shop and shirt shop have been longtime tenants. But several spaces have been vacant and the plaza has been mostly run down.

The plaza and Lee’s plan for it helped Hillside earn national honors as an All American community in 1997.

But the energy of the neighborhood could not be sustained once Lee and his followers succeeded in driving out the gangs, drug dealers, prostitutes and pimps who had taken over the neighborhood in the 1970s.

Lee turned the Hillside Neighborhood Association over to others while he built his Relevant Word Christian Cultural Center church.

And apathy gripped Hillside as everyone got comfortable again. Meanwhile, the plaza languished.

In 2005, Lee decided he wanted to take over the plaza. It disturbed him that a liquor store was the primary tenant. He didn’t think the liquor store was a healthy business for the neighborhood. So he convinced the board of the neighborhood association to turn ownership of the plaza over to him.

This enraged Bland, who saw it as a theft from the neighborhood. He mounted a battle for control of the neighborhood association and ultimately sued Lee for the plaza.

Ultimately, the lawsuit ended with the plaza being returned to the neighborhood association.

Here’s a story I wrote in 2005 about the fight for control.

Here’s a column I wrote in 2007 after the lawsuit was resolved.

Now, it is for sale. The neighborhood association’s volunteer board doesn’t have the time to serve as its landlord and says no one in the community is willing to volunteer to help.

Bland is disappointed but understands the burden of running the neighborhood and the problem of apathy.

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SCRUFFY OLD HILLSIDE PLAZA UP FOR SALE is a post from: Side Streets

The Patty Jewett Neighborhood Association is one of those groups that looks for ways to build the morale and strengthen the unity among neighbors. 

PJNA board members care about the image of the neighborhood. They want to improve the neighborhood by building playgrounds and painting telephone poles, spreading wildflower seeds and installing public art. 

PJNA board chairwoman Amy Triandiflou said her group is proud of the neighborhood. She and the others want people passing through to get a strong sense of the values of Patty Jewett residents: “activity, art, greenspace and community.” 

They also value the neighborhood’s place in the history of Colorado Springs. Besides its proximity to the historic Patty Jewett Golf Course, the neighborhood was along the route of the old Santa Fe Railway as it sliced northwest to Denver from his 1917 depot on Pikes Peak Avenue. 

The tracks were abandoned in 1971 after the last passenger train rolled through and gradually were replaced by the Shooks Run Trail. Here’s a look at the trail in Patty Jewett neighborhood. 

After months of collaboration between the Patty Jewett Neighborhood Association, the Club of Arts and the Concrete Couch project from Manitou Springs, a locomotive bench was unveiled and installed along the Shooks Run Trail along Corona Street, just south of Columbia Street

To draw attention to the neighborhood among trail-users, the PJNA decided to dress up the area. 

The liked the idea of public art. And they wanted to draw attention to the history of the trail. 

So they collaborated with the neighborhood non-profit Club of Arts to come up with a concept. 

The club was created in 2005 by Bella Eisenstein to give folks with developmental disabilities a place to learn social skills and gain independence in an artistic environment. 

The Club of Art, 505 E. Columbia St., suite 103, serves about 200 students with developmental disabilities.

This "concrete couch" was built in 2009 by the Club of Arts to honor a client, whose picture is in the center, who had died.

The club occupies a storefront near the intersection of Corona and Columbia streets. A year earlier, the club had built a “concrete couch” to honor a client who had died. The Concrete Couch  is a public art, community-building project started by Steve Wood of Manitou Springs.  

The history of the Shooks Run Trail is etched on a sign near the new locomotive bench. On the other side is a map of the trails in the area.

Here’s a view of the small park along Corona Street, just south of Columbia.  

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CLIMB ON BOARD THE PATTY JEWETT EXPRESS! is a post from: Side Streets

Ann Bates told me a story I couldn’t believe until I checked it out.

Bates bought a home in the Pinon Sun Townhomes in 1984. Her new unit started flooding during cloudbursts in 1990.

Every couple years a cloudbust brought a deluge that flooded the ravine behind her building, turned it into a lake with water flowing so fast it sometimes pushed through her basement window and gushed inside, ruining her walls, carpeting and furniture.

It happened repeatedly. But no one could seem to figure out why.

After the fourth incident over a 10-year period, Bates became frustrated and in 2004, she sued her Pinon Sun Homeowners Association as well as a neighboring condominium complex, an apartment complex and a church.

Her experts had identfied the neighbors as the source of the uncontrolled runoff causing all the damage.

After years in court, Bates won a $118,000 settlement. And the insurance company for the townhome and condo HOAs spent $270,000 expanding the stormwater sewer to handle the runoff.

Water pours under a fence from the Pinon Springs Condominiums into a ravine behind buildings of the Pinon Sun Townhomes. Photo courtesy city of Colorado Springs.

The work was completed in April 2009. Guess what happened in July? A cloudburst swamped the ravine and flooded her home again. A neighbor has experienced the same trouble, as well.

During the years the laewsuit dragged on, Bates couldn’t live in her home. It filled with mold that contamined the entire place. She stayed with friends for many months before finally moving in with her sister in Georgia. She still lives there in a rented condo.

The ravine behind Ann Bates' Pinon Sun Townhome unit is turned into a lake by runoff from nearby Picturesque Circle, which funnels the water onto a condo complex, over its tennis courts and past a privacy fence into the ravine. Photo courtesy the city of Colorado Springs.

Bates said her life has been ruined by the townhome, valued by the El Paso County Assessor’s office at $172,000.

 She can’t live in it because it would cost $15,000 to $30,000 to remove the mold. Years of paying attorneys and other bills have left her broke. She can’t afford to fix it. And she wouldn’t anyway because of the ongoing threat of flooding. She can’t sell her unit for obvious reasons and she can’t lease it.

Even worse, Bates said, her HOA is punishing her for suing. She describes HOA leaders as abusive. Most recently, the HOA ripped the deck off the back of her home. HOA president Bob Podunovich said he determined the deck was acting as a dam, flooding Bates’ home and her neighbor’s unit.

Water pours under a fence and into a ravine behind Ann Bates' unit in the Pinon Sun Townhomes. Colorado Springs' water engineer Lisa Ross said the city should raise the curbs or build a berm to prevent water from leaving Picturesque Circle and flooding the ravine. Photo courtesy of the city of Colorado Springs.

City officials and water experts disagree. In fact, city water engineer Lisa Ross said runoff from Picturesque Circle was wrongly drains onto private property of the townhome complex, down the ravine and into Bates’ basement.

The city identified the project as a high priority and had plans to fix it. Until, that is, the city’s stormwater fee ended last January and money for drainage evaporated.

So now Ann sits in Georgia with a townhome she can’t use in Colorado Springs. She fears she’ll never be able to live in it again, or lease it, or sell it.

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WISH ANN BATES A MERRY CHRISTMAS . . . IN GEORGIA is a post from: Side Streets

In 1925, bridge building was more art than science.

To cross Cheyenne Creek at Evans Avenue in Cheyenne Cañon, crews grabbed 16 old steel railroad rails — narrow gauge — framed them with wood, poured concrete and collected rock to fashion railings.

Voilá — a pretty little two-span bridge was created.

Given the small volume of traffic in Cheyenne Cañon then, it was plenty sturdy.

Not anymore.

Today, it is rated “structurally deficient.” The worst bridge in Colorado Springs.

Eighth-worst in Colorado. Unsafe for garbage trucks or fire trucks to cross.

You might think replacing it would be a no-brainer.

You’d be wrong.

The tiny 30-by-20 foot span is the focus of a big snit on Pine Grove Avenue, home of the famous Starr Kempf wind sculptures.

Folks there are fired up, convinced the city is conspiring to use $840,000 in federal bridge-replacement money to dramatically change their quiet, wooded little neighborhood.

Neighbor Ellen Casey has rallied neighbors to fight suggestions by the city that, as part of the bridge project, it’s time to consider realigning the confusing entrance to the North Cheyenne Cañon Park and parking for the Starsmore Discovery Center. Here’s a view from FlashEarth.com.

The neighbors’ reaction shocked Dan Krueger, senior civil engineer overseeing the bridge project. He said it simply makes sense to examine other issues at the Evans Avenue/Cheyenne Boulevard intersection besides just the bridge.

Folks driving west often are confused by the three-way intersection of Evans, North Cheyenne Cañon and South Cheyenne Cañon roads. School buses and trucks often veer right up the north road and get stuck trying to turn around, the city told Pine Grove residents.

Another issue is the parking lots for Starsmore. School kids must cross the busy south road to reach the center.

So he created 10 options. One option is to do nothing. The second is to strictly replace the existing bridge. The next 8 are more elaborate. See what you think.

This one shows Evans Avenue curving into the park, over a new bridge. The old bridge is preserved for foot traffic. Pine Grove would remain a side street.

In this version, the bridge is replaced and the intersection realigned.

This is a more radical realignment. It curves Evans into the park over a new bridge, preserving the old for pedestrians. It also swaps the parking lot and the road so visitors to Starsmore don’t have to cross lanes of traffic.

This configuration replaces the bridge and squares up the intersection but leaves Evans Avenue basically the same with a change to the parking lot and road in the park.

This version uses a traffic circle, or round-about,  at the intersection and preserves the old bridge for pedestrians.

In this version, the bridge would be replaced and a traffic circle built.

This incorporates the realigned Evans, parking lot and road and traffic circle.

This is the last version with the traffic circle and a bridge replacement.

Let me know what you think about these options.

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IS CITY TRYING TO TAKE EVANS AVENUE BRIDGE TOO FAR? is a post from: Side Streets

Caramillo Street is one of those cool old streets in the Old North End Neighborhood of Colorado Springs.

I’m talking specifcally about the block between Weber Street and Wahsatch Avenue.

It’s short — fewer than a dozen homes – and narrow — maybe three cars wide. And it’s century-old houses are crowded together.

The street is shaded by a canopy of beautiful old trees. The homes have porches and sun decks. And it’s adjacent to Shooks Run Trail.

Here’s a look at it during summer from Google Maps.

 But as great as it looks in the summer, it’s even better during the Christmas season.

I immediately assumed there must be some fun people living on Caramillo. So I started making some calls. Turns out, my instincts were correct.

These are people who work hard to get along and enjoy their neighbors.

It’s folks like Tim and Camilla Mitchell, who have lived there 18 years. Their high school-aged daughter has had keys to most of the homes, Tim said, because she’s the neighborhood pet watcher for folks on vacation.

It’s Gina Bamberger and Patrick Carter, both doctors, who have lived there since 1997 and even moved from one home to another when they needed a bigger house. They didn’t want to leave Caramillo or their friends.

The neighbors all identify Patrick as being the sparkplug who ignites much of the fun. And they credit Gina for feeding everyone.

The two couples get credit from others on Caramillo for being the catalyts for such events as the summer movie nights they enjoy. A movie screen is hung from one neighbor’s porch. A DVD projector is brought out and everyone contributes to a potluck dinner.

The movies attract dozens from surrounding streets, as well.

Tim and Patrick also were the force behind the Christmas lighting tradition. Tim saw lights draped across the streets of Hilton Head, S.C., and soon Patrick was exhorting everyone to light Caramillo.

The transformation is amazing. Check it out:

xxx

Gina Bamberger said the decorated bicycle on the porch typically rests in the garden as a decoration but her son hoisted it on the roof for Christmas. He wanted to add a special touch to the neighborhood decor and the family had banned any inflatables.

Here’s another view of the decorations looking west.

The neighborhood has an even cooler twist on the holiday decorations.

It’s a tradition that started spontaneously. On one night, for a short period of time, the neighbors gather in their front yards, build a fire, play music and give away cookies and hot cider to passersby.

How cool is that? I’m very impressed.

Please don’t call me for details on the cookie and cider giveaway. I’m sworn to secrecy. Maybe you’ll get lucky and stumble onto it.

 I know I intend to be there!

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EVERYBODY SHOULD LIVE ON CARAMILLO! is a post from: Side Streets

In day light, Margot Lane’s twin fir trees at 1535 Culebra Ave. in the Old North End Neighborhood are impressive. They stand nearly nine stories high at about 88 feet each. (See the map below).

For a month each year, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, the tree are more than impressive. At night, they are spectacular.

That’s when Margot turns on the juice and 37,000 mini white bulbs glow.

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What started in 1999 as Margot and John Lane’s tribute to their son, Bruce, who had died of cancer, has evolved into an annual Christmas gift to Colorado Springs.

Except that Margot is moving in the spring, meaning this could be the last year the trees are lit.

Here are some statistics courtesy of Bob Marchiani of Rocky Mountain Tree Specialist.

He and his son, Marco, spend the week before Thanksgiving weaving 740 strands of white mini lights into the trees. Each strand has 50 bulbs.

Here are a couple other views:

To be precise, the east tree gets 340 strands while the west tree gets 400 strands.

The east tree is the taller of the pair. Bob measured it at about 88 feet while the west tree is about a foot shorter.

Bob made his calculations this way: the bucket at the end of its boom on the back of his truck stands 60 feet high. Bob then uses poles extended 20 feet, 6 inches. With his arms fully extended and standing on his tippy toes, he gains another 7 feet, 6 inches.

Bob said he and Marco use 35 extension cords, ranging from 6 feet to 12 feet long, attached to eight wiring harnesses that drop down to four power outlets at the base of each tree.

One tree draws  57 amps while the other draws 55 amps.

Bob said squirrels do tremendous damage to the lights, chewing through the wires and making other mischief. Ravens also attack the bulbs. Wind is another enemy of the lights.

Here’s a map:

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BETTER SEE MARGOT’S ENORMOUS CHRISTMAS TREES BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE is a post from: Side Streets

Railroad crossings have nearly been eliminated in Colorado Springs.

There are two in the Mill Street neighborhood — at Las Animas and at Sierra Madre streets, near the Drake Power Plant.

Another is not far away at South Royer Street, just north of East Las Vegas Street, on the edge of the Hillside neighborhood.

 The city is conducting a survey of public opinion regarding the Royer crossing. See it here. 

(NOTE: The electronic survey was shut down Dec. 17. But it will still accept mail-in surveys for a short time. To receive a hard copy of the survey, call 385-5877 or use the email contacts shown on the webpage.) 

It’s studying whether to close the crossing after 25 accidents since 1975 and several near tragedies. About a dozen people have been hurt but no one has died in the wrecks. Yet.

A truck became stuck on Nov. 11, 2010, trying to cross the railroad tracks on South Royer Street. The truckdriver ignored signs that closed the street to truck traffic due to the danger of becoming high-centered on the tracks.

The city of Colorado Springs installed signs warning of the danger to trucks trying to cross the tracks on South Royer Street after a string of incidents. But truckdrivers repeatedly ignore the warnings and try to cross, often getting stuck on the tracks. There have been 25 wrecks since 1975 at the crossing and a dozen injuries, but no deaths.

 Recently, trucks and buses have become stuck on the crossing because of its steep grade. 

The guys at nearby  Harris Used Parts have come to the rescue of stuck trucks several times. They use a forklift to lift the trucks. Usually, they say, they can dislodge the trucks.

A forklift driver from Harris Used Parts tried to lift a truck stuck on the railroad tracks on South Royer Street on Nov. 11, 2010. He was unable to free the truck.

The survey is the beginning of a community discussion about the crossing and whether it should be closed or moved to a safer location, said Dave Krauth, the city’s principal traffic engineer.

It could lead to the city simply closing the crossing, which gets about 5,000 cars a day and about three dozen trains, or relocating it further west.

The problem with the crossing is the steep pitch of Royer on the south side from Las Vegas Street.

Krauth said it is a 15 percent grade. It drops off so sharply that low-riding trucks scrape and get caught on the tracks.

Fixing the problem would require raising the road about four feet and cost $1.5 million, minimum, Krauth said.

It would be easier to simply close it and rebuild a new crossing a mile or two west.

There would be a huge fringe benefit for nearby residents in Hillside. Any new crossing would be required by federal law to incorporate the latest crossing guards, lights, sensors and safety devices.

As a result, the crossing would qualify as a quiet zone. Engineers in passing trains would no longer be required to routinely blast their horns, which register at about 100 decibles, rattling houses, windows and eye-teeth.

Here’s a link to a story about the crossing in September 2005 after a semi-truck got stuck and smashed there. It followed a similar truck-train encounter in July 2005.

In December 2009, a tour bus became the latest victim of the crossing. Read about it at this link.

Here’s what we wrote after a truck got stuck on Nov. 11, 2010.

Here’s a look at the scars in the pavement from trucks stuck across the tracks:

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GEAR-JAMMING FOOLS MAY SILENCE TRAIN HORNS is a post from: Side Streets

Darin Harper says he is misunderstood, not a lousy neighbor.

All those unlicensed, broken-down cars he parked up and down Cambridge Avenue in Stratmoor Valley? 

Repairing and selling them is just his hobby, not his business.

And when El Paso County Code Enforcement officer Gayle Jackson saw him sitting behind the wheel of his truck, towing a car from the police impound lot after an auction?

He wasn’t driving the truck. He was just moving it to the street so someone else could drive it because Harper is legally blind and 100 percent disabled.

Anyway, he insists he hasn’t worked on a car at home or sold one in “years and years.”

And he only parked his cars, without permission, in a neighbor’s driveway just once. A long time ago.

And all that trash in his yard is his tenant’s stuff and it’s all being taken care of!

Jackson’s response to Harper? R-I-I-I-I-G-H-T!

She’s heard it all before.

Take the car business. At first, Harper told me it never happened. He never fixed cars and sold them from his home. Then it only happened a couple times, years ago. Then he said it was his hobby.

Well, Darin, how do you explain this ad in a used car classified ad section in August? The phone number, which I obscured, led me to Harper.

I’ve seen similar ads in recent weeks.

And what about the photos of you driving? And of cars parked all over Cambridge Avenue and filling the driveway of his house.

Jackson has photos with a half-dozen similar cars parked up and down the street.

Neighbor Kay Gabardi has more photos and even spoke to the neighbor who couldn’t park in his own driveway because of Harper’s cars.

She also have photos of Harper driving his truck, towing cars, in and out of his driveway and leaving police auctions with used cars in tow.

Jackson said she has taken Harper before the El Paso County Commission four times in four years, and even suing him for running an illegal car repair and sales business from home.

Now she’s pursuing a rubbish complaint for all the tires, refrigerator, an old stove and other junk in his yard.

xxx

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DARIN HARPER INSISTS HE IS NOT A LOUSY NEIGHBOR is a post from: Side Streets