CPN residents have adamantly opposed a plan to have Castle Pines Village traffic - including construction traffic - come through Castle Pines Parkway via a "North Gate" that would have connected via Forest Park Drive. We have been successful in negotiating an alternative. The new plan includes sending construction traffic from Castle Pines Village south to US 85 via Daniels Park Road.

The EPA is requiring that dirt roads in the northern portion of Douglas County be paved, because of the dust we contribute to Denver's infamous brown cloud. The chemical that is currently being used to reduce the dust is damaging trees along the route and is also a fire hazard. So paving will happen eventually; the only question is "when". The county will do it in multiple "phases" over a period of years, so that they can carefully design the road to reduce impacts.

Paving this southern section of Daniels Park Road was already on the county's plans and it has become essential to do the paving of this section of the road this fall, to be able to handle the construction traffic.

Regardless of whether the road surface is dirt or paved, the open land that you see is protected by being part of the Cherokee Ranch, Daniels Park, and the Highlands Ranch Open Space conservation areas. Part of the work for the Daniels Park Road project is to look at alternate routes and design changes that could actually reduce the impact of the road on these open spaces.

We had our first "Traffic & Safety" Action Committee meeting this month. For those of you who attended -- thanks. If you have previously volunteered for this committee, we have you on the list and will invite you to the next meeting. If you haven't already volunteered but would like to, send an email to [traffic@cpnhoa.org] or call (303) 265-9306.

How do we want to pursue (literally!) this issue?

We can use neighborhood speed-watch programs or patrols monitored by the county.

Please give your feedback to the Traffic Committee.

Douglas County is beginning the work to install two traffic lights on Castle Pines Parkway, expecting to be completed by early summer. There is a huge lead time involved in this process in getting the signal poles ordered.

• one at Charter Oaks (across from the Village Square commercial center) The grocery store developers say they will have this installed by the time their store(s) open.
• one at Monarch Blvd.

This is a several month process, the County is projecting completion by summer 2001.

The County has said that traffic lights would be installed prior to any of the grocery stores opening.

We will want to take a "big picture" look at the traffic signals and signage that make sense throughout CPN and work with the Country to get this done.

The need to expand the 2-lane section of CPN (from the commercial area east, and across I-25:

The County says they are planning to expand CPN to 4 lanes prior to opening any grocery stores (funding coming from developers).

There are no current plans for the bridge or interchange to I-25. Want to help on this one?

There are some neighborhood residents working on a Speedwatch program in CPN. If you are interested in volunteering, send an email to traffic@cpnhoa.org.

In other traffic news, the County is out looking at areas that need traffic signals. Join our Action Committee to work with the County on signals, speeding and other traffice and pedestrian issues

Planning has begun for what additional transportaion improvements would be needed to meet traffic needs over the next 20 years, (Linda Nuzum has been participating on the study committee).

Discussions of I-25 needs by the Year 2020 include adding another lane, so that there would be 8 lanes total between Lincoln and Meadows/Founders (the current construction project is being designed with this possibility in mind). Also under consideration is to at least preserve the right-of-way for future transit (light rail or buses; park-and-ride facilities that include one immediately to the east of the CPN exit).

Even if all these improvements are made by the Year 2020, Douglas County population is expected to grow to the point that I-25 congestion will remain a problem — with these current times looking like the good old days. It becomes imperative to look at having alternate routes.

Highlights from the committees that include government agencies, county residents and interest groupd begun in 1999 (including our representative Linda Nuzum) include the following visions. There are still many steps before finalizing plans including public comments, environmental clearance and funding. But here goes:

Highways:
I-25: Eight lanes, C-470 to Castle Rock
U.S. 85: Four lanes, Highlands Ranch Parkway to Castle Rock
Relocate the southern end of US 85 to join I-25 south of Castle Rock rather than north of it
Interchange improvements
Various "management" measures, such as improving response times for clearing accidents.

Transit:
Ultimately, Light Rail from the future southeast corridor transit station near C-470 and I-25 to downtown Castle Rock. Political realities mean this would come later than 2020.
Possibly a Front Range rail system that would go from Northern Colorado to Colorado Springs or further south - this would use trains that could follow the path of US 85 from Castle Rock into Denver.
Bus Service as a "demonstration" of transit usage and as a "feeder" to other transit lines.
In the interim, preserve the right-of-way for future rail options.

Douglas County would need to resolve the issue of responsibility and funding for transit; most of the county does not belong to the Regional Transportation District.

Park-and-Ride:
Park-and-ride lots along I-25, including one east of the Castle Pines Parkway/I-25 interchange.
A park-and-ride for U.S. 85 at Highlands Ranch Parkway.

Other Planning Considerations include:
Considerations for sound impact on residential areas near the highways.
A "wildlife friendly design" for all improvements, particularly in the areas west of U.S. 85.

Bus Service has been suggested as a "demonstration" of transit usage and as a "feeder" to other transit lines. The Regional Transportion District plans to start bus service from Highlands Ranch Parkway to Mineral Avenue to work with the Sante Fe light-rail service.

Douglas County would need to resolve the issue of responsibility and funding for transit; most of the county does not belong to the Regional Transportation District.

Last year's proposal to utilize Forest Park Drive for a Castle Pines Village "north gate" are tentatively resolved. Many CPN residents recall the proposal for new homes in the northern section of Castle Pines Village (Filings 27 and 28) to use Forest Park Drive as an access to the Village.

The developer has now submitted a revised proposal which DOES NOT include the Forest Park connection. Instead, they will design the development to eventually create a North Gate from Castle Pines Village that would exit to the Legae Ranch (details of which are not yet worked out)

There are no immediate plans to pave the length of Daniels Park Road. Douglas county expects that some of the traffic currently using Daniels Park Road will shift to Monarch-to-Quebec once that segment is contructed and they will delay any plans for paving until the need is determined and issues are resolved.

The northern-most mile or so of Daniels Park Road (near its current intersection with Wildcat Reserve Parkway, just north of McArthur Ranch Road) will end up being paved as homes are constructed in that area. The road will be re-aligned so the access from the north will be changed (once again). This is expected to happen in 2000.

The area between the south end of Highlands Ranch and the eventual north end of CPN (near the power lines that cross the road) is a large stretch of Open Space — there will never be homes or commercial building, but there will be some public and recreational uses (such as parks and schools). At some point, this section will probably be paved.

Just south of the power lines, the Road goes through the park, crosses Castle Pines Parkway and continues south to US 85. There are a number of political, environmental, and engineering challenges associated with any plans to pave this remaining section of the road.

Using Daniels Park Road
The County is planning on using road alignments and signage to discourage use of the road through Daniels Park. Travelers coming from Highlands Ranch would be guided toward the road through Romar West and travelers coming north from US 85 would be guided toward Castle Pines Parkway.

We are going to hold two "workshops" to discuss the comments that we will make on new developments near CPN (Filings 27 and 28 - aka the "Vickers Project"). This workshop concerns a proposal for new homes in Castle Pines Village.

The County would require that emergency vehicles be able to get to the homes in the northern section via the "service road" that currently exists near Monarch and Oxford. this road is now used by CPN Metro District trucks to get to the CPN Water Treatment Plant and it is also on our plans to be a part of the community trail system. (The CPN Metro District owns the road itself; there are no plans for this road to be used for any type of regular traffic and it is not an option for the "North Gate" access. In our comments on this project, we will want to be very specific that there would be adequate physical barriers so that traffic could not circumvent the security gate for the Village and that there would be very tight legal protections that this road would only be used for authorized emergency vehicles.

The developer (Vickers) is now proposing that a preferred alternate route for a "North Gate" would be via the Lagae Rance (east of CPN), however, approval from the Legae Ranch owners is not imminent and therefore the developer is asking:

• to proceed with the 400 homes in total in the entire section of Castle Pines Village (zoning would allow 850)
• to not build any North Gate at this time but to reserve space to put in a future North Gate via the Legae Ranch. (This would obviate access from Forest Park).

There are several issues with this proposal that could cause the Forest Park route to bubble to the surface again. Also there are a variety of other questions about this project, including water, wildlife corridors, and schools. Attend the workship and particpate in our feedback.

The Castle Pines Parkway is the major east-west thoroughfare in our community. One ongoing community concern is high-speed traffic.

Another relates to traffic lights, which will be installed as traffic warrants, most likely at Monarch Blvd. and near the new Village Square commercial area. The County is monitoring traffic levels.

Conversation tied to the I-25 interchange and Castle Pines Parkway include improved interchange lighting and the possible widening of the remaining 2 lane stretch of the Parkway to 4 lanes.

A study is underway to determine the longer-term improvements that should be make in both the I-25 and Us 85 corridors. Options being considered include more lanes (taking I-25 to 8 lanes total, and US 85 to 4 lanes total) and using rail or bus transit.

Improving the Titan Road intersection -
This project constructs a grade-separated intersection between Titan Road and the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad. This project is currently under conceptual design.

Along with the widening and reconstruction of I-25, there are also several projects to modify interchanges and overpasses.

The biggest change is the expansion of I-25 from 2 lanes in each direction (4 lanes total) to 3 lanes in each direction (6 lanes total) between Lincoln and Castle Rock. Along with the expansion, the pavement will be reconstructed for better traction in poor weather, and the new highway will have wider shoulders to better handle emergency stops. There will also be some type of sound mitigation barriers.

CDOT calls the additional lanes "climbing lanes" which will allow slow moving vehicles (such as trucks) to negotiate the steep grades on this section of I-25, and avoid the safety hazard of vehicles moving at significantly different speeds. Despite the climbing lane terminology, there will be no special design or restrictions on use for the new lanes; all 6 lanes will be used as regular highway lanes, with the expectation that slow-moving vehicles should be using the right lane.

Several projects have already been approved by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to improve safety and provide some relief to the congestion that we all experience on I-25 and US 85.

These projects are classified by CDOT as "Early Action Projects". This is CDOT lingo that means that the projects are underway and are in different stages of the process - ranging from construction, to still being designed and awaiting approval for construction funding.

The projects were on the priority list for "early start" under the funding approach approved by Referendum A in the November2, 1999 election.

Castle Pines North Homeowners Association
Copyright © 1999-2003 Castle Pines North Homeowners Association
All rights reserved.

Telephone and Fax:
303-482-3078

Address:
CPN Association, Inc.
7402 Yorkshire Drive
Castle Rock, Colorado 80104

Contact the Castle Pines North Homeowners Association (CPNHOA) by e-mail.