A plan for a new outdoor destination in Colorado Springs could be put on hold, pending more discussion among parks department officials and voting bodies.
One of those bodies is the Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) Working Committee, which was recently presented a master plan for Fishers Canyon Open Space. Following more than a year of technical studies, public meetings and online surveys, the presentation was the first step toward approvals by the working committee and city parks board.
Votes might happen next month — or they might not.
That’s as residents living next to Fishers Canyon Open Space continue to push back against the proposed plan that was released in January.
Concerns have mounted since 2021, when the city’s sales tax-funded TOPS program acquired the 343 acres bordering Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Pike National Forest and the Broadmoor Bluffs neighborhood. A trailhead parking lot has always been envisioned through the neighborhood, at the end of a residential street.
An online petition started last month, titled “Stop Fire and Safety Threat of Fisher’s Canyon Project.”
“We don’t get to 400 petition signatures in a week unless citizens are desperate to be heard,” the petition’s starter, Victoria Liu, said at the recent TOPS meeting.
She was joined by several neighbors calling for leadership to “slow down” the plan. Parks department Director Britt Haley sounded willing.
On the contrary, she recognized others over the years wishing for the department to “speed up” on open spaces that have been acquired but kept closed, waiting on master plans. One example was the extension of Blodgett Open Space; a master plan approved last year drew similar criticism from neighbors. Another example is the Black Canyon Quarry, acquired in 2022; the parks department is working to reclaim the quarry and create a hub for recreation around Waldo and Williams canyons.
Staff has been under “an enormous amount of pressure” with those projects and more, Haley said. “So honest to goodness, I don’t mind slowing down. … I think it helps us get it right.”
The Fishers Canyon Open Space plan outlines 9-10 miles of trail, leaving a reported 66% of the acreage as “natural preservation area.” The idea is “wilderness-type” trails, with lower loops and a hiking-only trail rising to the open space’s highest, craggy reaches; the trail would be seasonally closed for nesting raptors. Fishers Canyon would also be home to a key stretch of Chamberlain Trail, the long-dreamed path touring the city’s backdrop between Cheyenne Mountain and Blodgett Peak.
The 100-page plan calls for a “phased” build-out of the parking lot, expanding anywhere between 69 to 110 spaces as deemed necessary.
“We want to be good stewards of the property and not overbuild if we don’t need to,” said David Deitemeyer, senior program manager for TOPS. “It’s a new property, so it’s a demand we don’t quite know yet. I think it’s a demand that might peak in that first year, and then it might tail off.”
Neighbors have worried about cars spilling onto curbs. They’ve also worried about traffic, crime and decreased property values.
The plan estimates up to 217 more vehicles through the neighborhood on a weekend day. From consultation with traffic engineering staff, “it is likely that the Fishers Canyon added vehicles would not significantly impact evacuations out of the Broadmoor Bluffs neighborhood,” the plan states.
Some neighbors have sounded unconvinced. They have called for high-pressure fire hydrants installed in the open space — a possibility, Deitemeyer said, while also pledging more fire mitigation that the city started upon Fishers Canyon’s acquisition.
Better communication was the primary demand of neighbors at the TOPS Working Committee meeting.
“I do think there’s a way for our community to be excited and help parks and rec realize their vision for the open space,” Liu said, “but only with constructive discussion with the community.”
The discussion so far echoes contentious talks regarding Blodgett Open Space last year and underscores the broader plight of a parks department tasked with growing an open space portfolio for a growing population surrounded by development.
Fishers Canyon Open Space had been eyed for more homes over the years. That would have posed greater wildfire risks and increased traffic, the plan’s proponents have suggested. They have pointed out the open space being funded by all taxpayers, beyond the neighborhood.
But TOPS Working Committee members sounded willing to “slow down” and continue talks with the neighborhood. Members included Emily Danti.
“All I would ask, if we do extend it, is that we come to the table with open minds,” she said. “And ultimately for us to step back and think about the community as a whole, and think of all of Colorado Springs.”
The proposed plan is scheduled to be presented to the parks board next Thursday.