Air Pollution/Quality: Really that good? (Denver, Colorado Springs: environment, smog, showing)

[gokctx]

I have heard that Colorado Springs has good air quality and am interested in folks opinions on this, in particular:

How does Colorado Springs air quality/pollution compare to Dallas, San Diego, or San Jose?

Is Colorado Springs Air quality better than Denver?

Thanks!

[tfox]

Can't compare to the other cities you mentioned, but Colorado Springs' air quality is noticeably better than Denver's. I think the Palmer Divide tends to block out much of the smog from the north.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by tfox

Can't compare to the other cities you mentioned, but Colorado Springs' air quality is noticeably better than Denver's. I think the Palmer Divide tends to block out much of the smog from the north.

I'd agree. Here's a pic showing the Hollywood hills and the 405 blocking that smog from my old homestead, the Valley.


By comparison, here's that Valley of about 5 Million. The smog is a little worse than that of Denver on a hot 94 degree day, but look at Denver from Ken Caryl and Kipling on a cold winter morning.

[gokctx]

Thanks for the quick responses. My wife is sensitive to air pollution so air quality is very important!

Also, is it possible to commute to work in Aurora, but still live past the "Palmer Divide" close to the Springs so as to avoid Denver's air pollution?

Any other opinions on the Springs air quality/pollution greatly appreciated!!!

[Maynerd]

Originally Posted by gokctx

Also, is it possible to commute to work in Aurora, but still live past the "Palmer Divide" close to the Springs so as to avoid Denver's air pollution?

Any other opinions on the Springs air quality/pollution greatly appreciated!!!

It's about an hour's drive from Northern Colorado Springs to Aurora, longer during typical commute times. A lot of people make the drive every day, and there's a bus service now that can make the time a little more productive.

If you want to avoid the 'bad air' in Denver and don't want that long of a commute, consider Monument, Palmer Lake, or even Castle Rock. Any of these locations (as well as the Springs) have no air pollution problems.

[jerrygoldsmith]

I've not gotten a solid answer on city-wide pollution yet. Of course its going to differ, but every morning I wake up and sneeze for 10 solid minutes. Its maddening. Had allergy tests done, nothing.

But I do seem to breathe better here than I did in the humid and 'close' climates in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky

[Charles]

Originally Posted by tfox

Can't compare to the other cities you mentioned, but Colorado Springs' air quality is noticeably better than Denver's. I think the Palmer Divide tends to block out much of the smog from the north.

I think smog tests were discontinued in El Paso County? Or is it all of Colorado? Or just some counties in Colorado?

[cawildes]

Has anyone seen Sperlings Best Places website? There are several indexes and one is an environmental tab. Water quality is HUGE to us, given we've been living with extremely hard and terrible tasting tap water (everyone in our city has bottled water or a reverse osmosis treatment system for drinking water AND a water softener), and Co. Springs water quality is very high compared to the national average. Also, air quality is above the national average (I believe - would have to look at that page again). Also important to us b/c of allergy and asthma problems. The bottom line: I had so many concerns about the altitude and dryness there but I felt great when I visited last year - better than I do at home here in the Bay Area, CA. BTW, Sperlings Best Places has a lot of good info. about cost of living, schools, people demographics, crime, etc. Now the crime indexes kind of scared me until I was reminded that Co. Springs is a LARGE CITY. Any large US city has problems and problem spots. It's spread out enough that you may be able to avoid the problem areas. I have also heard there is some infrasctructure problems, just due to all the growth (mostly services, like police and fire, etc.), but the city is addressing those concerns and working on them. Is that the local's impression? We live in a great community in the Bay Area if anyone is looking to move up here. We have only 40K pop., but hired a new police chief from Seattle. Very proactive of the city in my opinion - they're on top of the growth and have planned well for it. If the move to Co. Springs doesn't work out, we'll be happy to stay here. Reminds me of what I saw of the Springs but we have a view of Mt. Diablo and are near the Delta. And it's been HOT since May - triple digits some days, and it's getting OLD.

[Charles]

In today's Gazette...Smog testing coming back????

Top Stories: El Paso County's air barely meets new EPA ozone guidelines | standards, epa, air : Gazette.com

[Charles]

Ozone alert issued for Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan,