Not the place for Buc-ee’s

Buc-ee’s is trying to build a travel center at County Line and I-25, near Monument and Palmer Lake.

Imagine, if you will, the Renaissance Festival in Larkspur. No, not the festival itself. Imagine hopping on the freeway and not being able to drive to Denver on the weekends during the summer. Why? Traffic.

Dead-stop traffic on I-25.

Now imagine this level of I-25 traffic DAILY. NIGHTLY. Every day and every night. I-25 a parking lot.

This is not the place for Buc-ee’s. Unlike Johnstown, which sits at 4,852 feet above sea level, the land in question today sits at 7,352 feet. It’s one of the most dangerous passes in Colorado. When townspeople asked the Buc-ee’s representatives what they would do when it snows, they said “we’d hire more snowplows”. They lied, saying their plan was in keeping with the town’s master plan. (It isn’t. The master plan documents list something that serves the local community, such as a feed store or restaurant.)

But the thing about life on the Palmer Divide is… you know you can’t just hire more snowplows. ALL the snowplows are out plowing the road for emergency vehicles when we get notable snow. It just goes to highlight how willfully ignorant these Buc-ee’s people are. They don’t care about safety. They don’t care about the towns. They only care about their money.

Don’t let someone else’s greed effectively cut the state in half. Traffic between Colorado Springs and Denver would be choked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Please say no to this proposed travel stop. Protect the residents of El Paso County. Enforce our zoning laws and master plans. Protect our wildlife, protect our dark skies, and protect our water supply.

Jennifer Wagner, Colorado Springs