El Paso County, Colorado

In April 2003, El Paso County completed Phase 1 of the Stapleton/ Judge Orr Road Corridor Study, by identifying a preferred alignment for the corridor segment between Meridian Road and the intersection of Judge Orr and Curtis Roads. The preferred alignment was selected to provide an efficient roadway, while minimizing adverse impacts to the community and environments. The Study has now moved to the next phase. In Phase 2 of the Study, the County is developing right-of-way plans for the preferred alignment, as well as a formal access control plan for this segment of the corridor.

Schedule
In May 2003, Phase 2 of the Study kicked-off with collection land survey data to support development of right-of-way plans for the preferred alignment. Data collection for the Access Control Plan, including existing access conditions, access criteria, and accident experience, was initiated at the same time. An intensive program of stakeholder involvement and agency coordination began in July 2003. During October and November, advisory input was sought from review bodies including the Major Thoroughfare Task Force, the Highway Advisory Board and the El Paso County Planning Commission.

In mid December, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners will be asked to adopt the Access Control Plan for selected alignment. The Access Control Plan will identify "allowable" signalized access to future Stapleton Road. Access points will be identified consistent with County criteria for spacing and efficiency of traffic signal operation. Supporting material will demonstrate conceptually how access to individual parcels could be connected to the approved access points.

The Access Control Plan
The Access Control Plan adopted by the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners will provide a blueprint for safe and efficient operations for transportation along the recommended alignment for future Stapleton Road/Judge Orr Road. By adhering to the Access Control Plan, El Paso County will be able to extend the life of the roadway, increase safety, reduce traffic congestion, as well as improve the appearance and quality of the built environment. The long-term property value of the surrounding land will be preserved and the economic viability of the abutting development will actually increase. Finally, strictly limited access along this road will be much less damaging to the rural landscape than individual private drives.

Access Criteria
Access to private property from the major roads is provided according to State and County guidelines, criteria, and regulations:

U.S. 24: Functional Category – Expressway
Access Criteria - one-mile spacing between the full movement intersections

Eastonville Road: Functional Category – Collector (south of Stapleton Road) /
Arterial (north of Stapleton Road)
Access Criteria – Collector (unrestricted south of Stapleton Road) /
Arterial (one half-mile spacing between full-movement intersections north of Stapleton Road)

Curtis Road: Functional Category – Arterial
Access Criteria – one half-mile spacing between full-movement intersections

Judge Orr Road: Functional Category – Arterial
Access Criteria – one half-mile spacing between full-movement intersections

Access Issues
Except in the area immediately adjacent to the proposed Stapleton Road/ US 24 signalized intersection, the new Stapleton Road facility will not directly impact any existing accesses. Existing accesses located near this proposed intersection would be expected to enjoy easier access short-term as a result of gaps in traffic flow created by the signal. Long-term, proposed widening of US 24 and increasing traffic volumes would make full-movement access at these driveways unsafe.

US 24 currently provides the only access for many properties. For this reason, current and future access to/from US 24 was factored into alternatives assessment and access concept development. With the State currently developing a separate Access Control Plan for US 24, Stapleton Road linkage is seen as a way to provide alternative access to parcels adjacent to U.S. Highway 24. With half-mile spacing for full access directly to Stapleton, and 40-acre parcels to the east of U.S. 24, it is clear that development of a public road network will be needed in the long-term. With a well-designed collector roadway network, future Stapleton Road represents an opportunity to improve access and to address current variances from applicable access criteria.

To address private property access, an access control scheme for Stapleton Road was developed to maximize flexibility, consistent with applicable access criteria. In addition, alternative “conceptual” collector road schemes were developed to assess how access to individual parcels could be achieved. Initially, three access control concepts were prepared to address both US 24 and Stapleton Road access issues.

The three preliminary concepts were reviewed with affected property owners and the viability of signalization options was evaluated. Based on input received and analysis results, a single, refined alternative was also developed. Drawings of all four of the access control concepts are included below. Temporary right-in/right-out symbols are shown along US 24 at existing accesses indicate CDOT intentions for the US 24 Access Control Plan as shared with the Stapleton Road Project Team. The US 24 accesses will probably remain as is until US 24 is widened to four lanes. Then, these accesses could become right-in/right-out only until/if alternative access (i.e. via a frontage road) is provided.

The local collector elements of the access option packages are conceptual, and are intended only to illustrate a full range of possible approaches to providing access and a local road network. All of the alternatives involve frontage road elements and employ "shadow" signals coordinated with U.S. 24 signals at Judge Orr Road/ Blue Gill Road and Stapleton Road. Because the access code requires a 30% signal progression when implementing shadow signal, preliminary feasibility of these options was evaluated using potential future traffic volumes. The analysis results supported the feasibility of this type of signalization scheme.

Right-of-Way Plans
Right-of-way plans for the Stapleton Road preferred alignment are being developed to establish a footprint for ultimate right-of-way requirements. The schedule for right-of-way acquisition and roadway construction is unknown. No funding is currently earmarked for the facility. The right-of-way footprint and access plan are intended as guidance to property owners and developers in decision-making and planning for their property.

The Public Involvement Process
Public involvement of Phase 2 of the Stapleton/ Judge Orr Road Corridor Study was based on the continuing philosophy that potentially affected property owners should be informed of plans and access issues prior to alternative access concepts going before the public. Guided by this approach, the public involvement process included the following activities:

One-on-one meetings
An initial set of one-on-one meetings was held only with owners of property with existing access that could potentially be impacted by construction of the new facility. One-on-one contacts for this set on contacts focused on the properties immediately adjacent to the proposed traffic signal at US 24 and Stapleton Road. The project team discussed the existing access situation, as well as anticipated future constraints to access to US 24, Stapleton Road and Eastonville Road (July 2003) with these property owners and their representatives. These meetings included the Four Way Ranch owner and his representative, as well at the two owners of property located on the east of the proposed US 24/ Stapleton Road intersection.

A second set of meetings was held then with the directly impacted owners to discuss options to provide alternative access and to solicit input with regard to solutions (July/ August 2003). This set of meetings expanded discussion to US 24 access issues.

Finally, one-on-one meetings were expanded to include property owners within the broader study area. This tier of meetings included representatives of Meadowlake Airport and other properties that were not directly impacted by the proposed Stapleton Road alignment. These meetings involved discussion of the existing access situation and three conceptual plans for providing access to properties within the study area (September 2003). As in the original phase of the project, discussions were held with developers in and near the project area, representatives of the Meadow Lake Airport, and owners of various large holdings in the vicinity of the proposed corridor.

Property owners who were unable to meet with project staff were supplied with maps of existing access, three conceptual plans for providing access, and contact numbers for project team representatives. These property owners were invited to discuss issues and to have their questions answered.

Website
A project website was established in cooperation with El Paso County to keep up to date information always available to the public and agencies. Upon completion of the one-on-one meetings, the website will be updated to include discussion of access issues and solution concepts.

Agency Review/ Coordination
Throughout the course of the access control phase of the study, Stapleton Road/ Judge Orr Road access control issues were coordinated with emerging access control plans for US 24. Coordination efforts included a coordination kick-off meeting with CDOT access control personnel, as well as attendance at CDOT US 24 Improvement Project progress meetings (2). Finally, a follow-up coordination meeting was held with with CDOT and their US 24 Access Control Plan consultant team.

To provide the El Paso County Board of Commissioners with advisory input to their decision, the existing access situation and three conceptual plans for providing access to properties within the study area were/ will be presented to the Major Thoroughfare Task Force (October & November 2003) and the Planning Commission (November 2003) for review and comment.

Follow up Activities
All property owners that could be impacted by the final Access Control Plan will receive follow-up describing the recommended Access Control Plan, as well as providing a schedule of review and approval decision points for the Plan (November 2003). The mailing will be followed by telephone phone calls to all potentially impacted property owners who do not responded to the letters.