Colorado Springs is in the early stages of a more than $1 billion plan to redevelop a swath of Fountain Creek near downtown for environmental and recreational access.

The city is accepting requests for proposals to partner with it and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a feasibility study for the COS Creek Plan, a proposal announced in 2022 to restore the stretch of Fountain Creek between Austin Bluffs Parkway and Las Vegas Street and establish a series of waterfront parks. The proposals for the study are due Oct. 13.

Continuing the creek project was one of six major goals Mayor Yemi Mobolade set for the second half of his term during his State of the City address last week. The plan, expected to take a decade to complete, combines improvements to habitats along the creek with the establishment of new points for community access to the crucial watershed.

“Restoring and maintaining floodplain connectivity through the corridor is a
goal of strategic planning efforts and will provide ecological resilience and reduced flood risk for both the creek ecosystem and adjacent neighborhoods,” a section of the feasibility application said.

City Public Works Director Rich Mulledy said the Corps of Engineers required the study for local and federal officials to pursue federal funding for the project. A plan that the federal agency approves could cover 65% of the cost of the improvements, which could total $1.2 billion, according to a preliminary estimate by the Corps of Engineers.

u003ca href=u0022https://gazettedev.gazette.com/2022/05/24/new-vision-proposed-for-colorado-springs-creeks-includes-beaches-for-tubing-boating-8f3b05dc-dacb-11ec-9ca2-af2d97ca8ef4/u0022u003eNew vision proposed for Colorado Springs creeks includes beaches for tubing, boating – Colorado Springs Gazetteu003c/au003e: City in early stages of $1B plan to redevelop swath of Fountain Creek with waterfront parks

The plan proposes eight projects along the waterway that would either add new parks with access to Fountain Creek or overhaul existing parks. The first park under consideration is America the Beautiful Park. The city has commissioned rough designs for a new park, including beach access for kayaks and other recreational options and an open space for events south of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

“We wanted to pick a location that has a chance to offer sporting and recreation to our downtown population. It would be highly visible near downtown, very accessible. The city already owns a lot of the creek and land in the area,” Mulledy said.

In January, Colorado Springs and the nonprofit Pikes Peak Waterways received a combined $700,000 in federal funding for Fountain Creek restoration work, but that was a drop in the bucket compared to the scope of the creek plan. Mobolade said that during his most recent trip to Washington, D.C., he met with leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to talk about available paths for federal funding.

“They were all aware of the COS Creek Plan. We were brainstorming how else we can release those dollars so that we can continue the work today,” Mobolade said.

Mulledy compared the possible timeline to the South Platte restoration project underway in Denver. It took seven years from when the feasibility study was launched in 2016 until the city certified a final agreement with the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the 6½ miles of projects along the river. The improvements are expected to take 10 years to roll out.

“We’ve been working on this now for about three years, and comparatively we are set up well,” Mulledy said.

u003ca href=u0022https://www.denvergazettedev.gazette.com/2023/05/09/denver-signs-historic-agreement-on-south-platte-river-restoration-2fd9f364-ee93-11ed-b380-9b0862eaa2b4/u0022u003eDenver signs historic agreement on South Platte River restoration – Denver Gazetteu003c/au003e: City in early stages of $1B plan to redevelop swath of Fountain Creek with waterfront parks

Nearly 30 volunteers were in America the Beautiful Park Friday afternoon picking up litter from the western edge of Fountain Creek. The cleanup was organized by Colorado Springs, the El Pomar Foundation and the Fountain Creek Watershed District as one of dozens of “Creek Week” cleanings taking place in the region.

Jim O’Donnell grew up in Pueblo and spent his childhood hanging out with other kids in the mostly depleted sections of Fountain Creek. His 2024 book “Fountain Creek: Big Lessons from a Little River” chronicles the underrated history of the watershed, from the deadly 1921 flood that tore through Pueblo to the recent years of restoration work.

O’Donnell was interested in the Creek Plan as a way to get people more invested in the health of Fountain Creek. He traveled to Colorado Springs last weekend to participate in the Creek Week cleanups and speak to some classes about his book. O’Donnell said he was concerned that the plan would not address the biggest factors harming the creek, namely the continued growth of Colorado Springs outward and upstream of the stretches of water that are being eroded.

“The plan is cool. You’re getting people down by the creek and making people value this resource. You also continue to harm the creek because you won’t rein in sprawl development,” O’Donnell said.