Two intersections in the Black Forest area could get traffic signals, part of a state plan to address access needs and improve safety along an approximately 10-mile stretch of Colorado 83, a Public Works Department presentation showed July 8.

The Colorado Springs City Council appeared to informally support approving an intergovernmental agreement with El Paso County and the Colorado Department of Transportation for a proposed comprehensive access control plan for Colorado 83. The access control plan focuses on 9.85 miles of the roadway between the southbound ramp to Colorado 21/Powers Boulevard and County Line Road farther north.

As El Paso County has grown there is now more traffic along the Colorado 83 corridor, engineering and design consultant Atkins wrote in an October 2021 report prepared for the state, county and city. Consultants expect traffic volume on the highway will increase between 17% and 86% by 2045.

“Without changes to the highway, the projected increase in traffic volumes poses the potential to increase delay, produce higher levels of congestion (and) pollution, and expose all roadway users to an increase in the number of crashes,” according to the report.

The access control plan defines how this portion of Colorado 83 can be accessed today and in the future, so landowners and developers know how the roadway can be accessed as they prepare development applications for county and city review. The plan will support city, county and state planning objectives.

“The purpose here is really to help define expectations among landowners, jurisdictions, developers and (the Colorado Department of Transportation) on what access should look like along Highway 83,” {span}Colorado Springs Traffic Engineering Division Manager Todd Frisbie {/span}told the council.

Supplemental to the access control plan is a map showing existing roadway access configurations and what configurations will be allowed in the future.

Two full movement intersections currently controlled by stop signs are anticipated to get signals in the future, the city’s presentation showed: Old North Gate Road, and an access road on Colorado 83 that turns into a state Department of Transportation maintenance facility. This way, the intersections can be signal-controlled when warranted, Frisbie said.

Other benefits of the access control plan are that it will improve traffic flow along Colorado 83, could reduce vehicle-related crashes, will efficiently space road signals and will accommodate all modes of travel, Frisbie said.

If city, county and state officials fully implement the plan, it will eliminate or restrict access on the types of turns allowed at specific intersections, helping reduce the number of locations where vehicles, pedestrians or bicyclists cross paths with each other — called “conflict points.” This improves overall safety for all travelers by reducing the opportunity for crashes, officials said in the October 2021 report. The access control plan will reduce the total number of accesses on this portion of Colorado 83 from 72 to 34, or by a little more than 50%, the document states.

The plan too will create new access locations that allow for combining adjacent driveways and that better accommodate future development. Fewer vehicles turning onto or off Highway 83 will reduce congestion, according to the 2021 report.

Colorado Springs and El Paso County officials must agree to the access control plan and sign the intergovernmental agreement before it is presented to the State Transportation Commission. Once the Colorado Department of Transportation signs the agreement, the access control plan goes into effect.

The City Council is expected to vote on a resolution approving the intergovernmental agreement at its regular meeting July 23.