EVEN OUR WATERFALLS AREN’T SAFE!

March 20th, 2011, 12:00 pm by Bill Vogrin

Here’s how Helen Hunt Falls normally looks . . .

Helen Hunt Falls

But lately, its received a paint job it didn’t need.

Others call it graffiti.

In this case, it appears to be the work of gangbangers.

Spray paint mars the signs, rocks along the trail, timbers and around the falls itself.

It’s an ugly stain on North Cheyenne Canon Park and the falls.

And it is disturbing to folks who live nearby and those who travel from all over Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Region to hike the canyon.

It bothers them to think they are at risk of encountering Surenos or Chihuahuas or Maderas or Prospect Lake Barrio or Blythe Street X3 gang members when they walk, run or bike the canyon and its popular trails.

But the signs are unmistakable.

But gang graffiti, or just random forms of graffiti, are not confined to Helen Hunt Falls.

After a couple quiet years of relatively little graffiti, city parks maintenance supervisor Tim Pluemer reports an ugly bloom of the vandalism is underway.

He says it is a chronic problem at the three city skate parks.

And it is spreading to neighborhood parks from Briargate to the Broadmoor area.

No park, it seems is immune.

And it’s a shame that when budgets are so tight, the one member of the parks maintenance staff has devote two days a week simply to scrubbing away the often profane rants and taggings by graffiti vandals.

Graffiti tags of the Surenos gang, based in Southern California, mar a skate park in Colorado Springs.

Graffiti on a playground in a Colorado Springs neighborhood park.

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Posted in: Uncategorized • Blythe Street X3 • Chihuahuas • Colorado Springs • gangbangers • graffiti • Helen Hunt Falls • Maderas • North Cheyenne Cañon Park • Pikes Peak region • Prospect Lake Barrio • skate parks • Spray paint • Surenos | 1 Comment »

IS CITY TRYING TO TAKE EVANS AVENUE BRIDGE TOO FAR?

December 15th, 2010, 2:19 pm by Bill Vogrin

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.