Future designs for Palmer High School have been thrown into question after the Colorado Springs City Council chose not to vacate the block of Boulder Street needed for the school’s master plan.

The decision to vacate a block of Boulder Street failed on a deadlocked 4-4 vote at Tuesday afternoon’s council meeting.

Councilmembers Dave Donelson, Kimberly Gold, Nancy Henjum and Brandy Williams voted against the measure. Councilmember Brian Risley had recused himself from the vote because his firm is working on a different project with School District 11.

“I see Boulder as very crucial, especially with Middle Shooks Run and bringing traffic into and out of downtown. So I’m personally not in favor of vacating that right of way, but I don’t think that takes away the partnership I feel with the high school,” Williams said.

Vacating Boulder Street was required for the plan to build a track at the high school in the next phase of the project and connect the two sections of the high school currently split by the road into a united campus.

The council was divided over whether closing a block of the street would provide a major benefit to high school students that outweighed the traffic delays and potential increases in response times to UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central.

The decision mirrored the public comments the city received over the school’s proposal to close the street. City staff said during the meeting that the email comments about closing Boulder Street were roughly split 50-50 between support and opposition.

Two rows of students from Palmer attended the meeting to speak in favor of the design as increasing school safety. A group of neighbors from Middle Shooks Run and the Historic Uptown neighborhoods argued the block was too important for traffic and that students would be at risk in intersections either way.

Middle Shooks resident Amy Hill said that closing a public road should require overwhelming public support and knowledge. Hill said that making the two portions of the campus connect would disconnect one of the major roads between the neighborhood and downtown Colorado Springs.

“The Boulder Street vacation moves in the opposite direction, by building a largely inaccessible practice track and an unfunded athletic facility,” Hill said.

The proposed zoning change for the two blocks was approved 5-3 and the high school land-use plan was approved 7-1.

The city Planning Commission had approved all parts of the proposal in December, though with conditions on the Boulder Street closure.

Boulder Street has been closed since the summer for the ongoing renovations at the high school. City Traffic Engineer Todd Frisbie and the traffic study commissioned by the school district both found the closure has led to minimal delays or congestion for most drivers.

Donelson and Henjum focused their concerns about the road closure on emergency responses. An initial estimate from city staff in March 2025 found that emergency vehicles could take an additional 20 seconds to respond by having to drive an extra block around the high school.

“In other conversations I’ve had with city staff about other road safety improvements, even a few seconds were noted by police and fire as a problem,” Henjum said.

While the Colorado Springs Police Department told the council they had seen minimal issues with the temporary closure, Memorial Hospital has not said anything about the delays their ambulances experience.

Students and Palmer High School’s principal both argued that eliminating the need to cross Boulder Street would reduce the risk for thousands of students. Students cited that a single-block campus would be faster to cross, easier to secure during emergencies, and allow them to focus on learning.

“I have seen a lot of kids and staff get injured outside the school on those crosswalks. It’s not a pretty sight. If can keep these kids safe and the ones coming up, let’s go ahead and do that,” said Dennis Moore, Palmer High School’s security lead.

When asked by Donelson to cite recent incidents, Moore said a staff member was hit at one of the Boulder Street intersections three years ago. Last year, a student was hit by a car turning at Platte and Wahsatch avenues.

District 11’s $100 million project is planned to expand classroom spaces and athletic facilities at the high school. The current high school building was dedicated in 1938.

Superintendent Michael Gaal said the district had the funds needed to get through the phase of construction that would have built the track across Boulder Street. Phase 2 would require the district to ask voters for a $100 million bond to complete the work.

“We are asking for an opportunity to reinvent urban education right here, in the heart of our city,” Gaal said.

The architects contracted by D-11 had previously told The Gazette that they would rework the master plan if the City Council did not approve the school plans. One earlier design for the school renovation involved tearing down Palmer High School Auditorium to expand the practice track to a full-size facility.