Westside Pioneer Home Page

Gates installed at all but 1 GoG access - Gateway Road design in progress

Dec. 2, 2017
       They're not operational yet, but swinging metal gates have been installed on all but one of the roads into the Garden of the Gods City Park.
       Colorado Springs Parks Operation and Maintenance Manager Kurt Schroeder confirmed
Not yet being used, the gate at Ridge Road going into the Garden of the Gods is located just past Temple Drive, the last turnoff street before entering the city park.
Westside Pioneer photo
the work at the end of November. Crews have been installing the gates during breaks from other department projects in recent weeks, he explained.
       There is no schedule yet for implementing the city's overall plan, which is to provide the capability to close the park to cars overnight, when maintenance is needed or during special events.
       The entrance without a gate at this point is the one that gets the bulk of the traffic: Gateway Road off 30th Street, which provides the most iconic view of the Kissing Camels and other rock formations.
       The city is still mulling a design there. According to Schroeder, key issues are aesthetics ("we don't want a run-of-the-mill gate"), providing a way for Gateway drivers to turn around when it's closed, and synching up with a separate city planning effort for major improvements along 30th Street past the Garden.
       City Parks officials have perceived a need for traffic control as visitors to the free-admission park have increased over time. An estimated 4 million people come through it every year.
       The overnight closures are envisioned on a daily basis from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. As Schroeder has previously commented, “Not much good happens in the park after 11 p.m.”
       Gate funding so far has come from the Garden of the Gods Foundation (owner of the visitor center at Gateway and 30th), which has contributed $50,000 for the work.
       The City Parks Advisory Board (appointed by City Council) will eventually need to sign off on the gate-use implementation, Schroeder has said.
       The other park-entrance roads are Ridge Road (from Pikes Peak Avenue), Beckers Lane (from Manitou Avenue) and Garden Drive (from El Paso Boulevard).

Westside Pioneer article
(Outdoors: Garden of the Gods)

Would you like to respond to this article? The Westside Pioneer welcomes letters at editor@westsidepioneer.com. (Click here for letter-writing criteria.)