Seceding from the Springs: Interesting idea... (Denver, Colorado Springs: houses, neighborhoods, quality of life)

[Littlekw]

Seceding from the Springs | City Sage | Colorado Springs Independent

Mr. Hazlehurst has made this suggestion in a few of his columns and in chatting personally with him. It's an interesting idea. Granted, it's an idea and totally an op-ed piece but I'm curious what the CD folks of Colorado Springs think of it.

I live on the west side, previously in Ivywild. Although I work in the northern suburbs, I spend as much of my time and money in the areas he mentions in the column, primarily the west side and downtown. I like the historic core of Colorado Springs the best and other than work, have very little use for the suburbs. I actually wouldn't mind seeing the two vastly different areas split.

The suburbs can go ahead and keep the name of Colorado Springs. The rest of us will pick something new and divorce ourselves from the negative stereotypes the Springs conjures in the minds of so many.

Don't get me wrong, I love my city, I'd love both cities, but I'd be interested to see my favorite part of the municipality to have its own, separate identity.

Likely to happen? No. Kind of fun to speculate on? Heck yeah! Just my thoughts and ramblings on an interesting idea...

[phetaroi]

To be honest, IMHO, just another example of people trying to stir up trouble where there is none.

[ryanek9freak]

How about we tell the current day Colorado City we want our name back, and we just go back to what it was?

[hollyt00]

I've felt the same very often!

[Vision67]

Originally Posted by Littlekw

Seceding from the Springs | City Sage | Colorado Springs Independent

Mr. Hazlehurst has made this suggestion in a few of his columns and in chatting personally with him. It's an interesting idea. Granted, it's an idea and totally an op-ed piece but I'm curious what the CD folks of Colorado Springs think of it.

I live on the west side, previously in Ivywild. Although I work in the northern suburbs, I spend as much of my time and money in the areas he mentions in the column, primarily the west side and downtown. I like the historic core of Colorado Springs the best and other than work, have very little use for the suburbs. I actually wouldn't mind seeing the two vastly different areas split.

The suburbs can go ahead and keep the name of Colorado Springs. The rest of us will pick something new and divorce ourselves from the negative stereotypes the Springs conjures in the minds of so many.

Don't get me wrong, I love my city, I'd love both cities, but I'd be interested to see my favorite part of the municipality to have its own, separate identity.

Likely to happen? No. Kind of fun to speculate on? Heck yeah! Just my thoughts and ramblings on an interesting idea...

So..this would be like creating an affordable Boulder? Hmmm. Nice idea

Imagine carving out a progressive little city from the sprawling mess we call Colorado Springs! The new city would incorporate the city's historic core, the west side, Broadmoor, Skyway, Old Colorado City, Pleasant Valley, No Man's Land and (we would hope!) Manitou Springs.

How do we motivate our conservative overlords to make this happen?

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by Vision67

So..this would be like creating an affordable Boulder? Hmmm. Nice idea

Imagine carving out a progressive little city from the sprawling mess we call Colorado Springs! The new city would incorporate the city's historic core, the west side, Broadmoor, Skyway, Old Colorado City, Pleasant Valley, No Man's Land and (we would hope!) Manitou Springs.

Having lived in the West and Southwest sides of town for the last 12 years, a 12-15 minute drive to my Downtown office, and trying to limit driving trips east and north to once or twice a year, it's pretty easy to already feel like one lives in an affordable Boulder, except vastly better than Boulder because Boulder is a congested nightmare of traffic and shudder-inducing high-end retail stores. Just a guess, but I'm thinking the COS areas described in the article have a similar feel to what Boulder probably felt like back in the '60's and '70's before it became a suburb of Coastal California and the Hamptons.

Its a complex dynamic, but I personally think there's a big silver lining to being "held back" by the perception/reality COS is a hard-right haven. I don't mind living in the shadow of hard-right politics (which I can and do entirely tune-out) if it keeps our delightful Westside from being overrun and "Boulderized." What harm is it to me they (City Council / County Commissioners) continually pass their nonsensical/pointless political diatribes? It's a bit selfish but if the secret of how spectacular our actual quality of life is in our COS Westside pocket of goodness actually got out to the rest of the country, we'd all be paying double or triple of what we currently pay to live here, which would sort of defeat the purpose. Might as well just give up and go to Boulder at that point and try to tune-out the left-wing crazies who run things up there.

[airventure]

I don't understand this idea at all. Don't we already do this by dividing up the city into neighborhoods? I agree there's a certain charm to that. However, dividing up a city to properly divide stereotyped people? I don't get that.

[Littlekw]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

To be honest, IMHO, just another example of people trying to stir up trouble where there is none.

Not necessarily. I see it more as a realization that our city isn't all on the same page any more. The rift is there but there is little attempt at reconciliation. When the masses get disgruntled they want to find a solution. This is just one idea of a solution.

Originally Posted by ryanek9freak

How about we tell the current day Colorado City we want our name back, and we just go back to what it was?

I had that conversation with a buddy of mine. Great idea but then it turns into a bureaucratic nightmare. Gotta try to steal a post office and zip code from the current Colorado City at this point. We could just name the new city after one of the neighborhoods. Ivywild? Skyway? Broadmoor? (Would the Broadmoor neighborhood even want to be associated with Stratmoor Meadows?)

Originally Posted by Vision67

So..this would be like creating an affordable Boulder? Hmmm. Nice idea

Imagine carving out a progressive little city from the sprawling mess we call Colorado Springs! The new city would incorporate the city's historic core, the west side, Broadmoor, Skyway, Old Colorado City, Pleasant Valley, No Man's Land and (we would hope!) Manitou Springs.

How do we motivate our conservative overlords to make this happen?

I like the way you think. An affordable Boulder... Fun idea, especially in El Paso County. Manitou already kind of has that distinction but by banding together we could make it bigger and better.

Originally Posted by smdensbcs

Having lived in the West and Southwest sides of town for the last 12 years, a 12-15 minute drive to my Downtown office, and trying to limit driving trips east and north to once or twice a year, it's pretty easy to already feel like one lives in an affordable Boulder, except vastly better than Boulder because Boulder is a congested nightmare of traffic and shudder-inducing high-end retail stores. Just a guess, but I'm thinking the COS areas described in the article have a similar feel to what Boulder probably felt like back in the '60's and '70's before it became a suburb of Coastal California and the Hamptons.

Its a complex dynamic, but I personally think there's a big silver lining to being "held back" by the perception/reality COS is a hard-right haven. I don't mind living in the shadow of hard-right politics (which I can and do entirely tune-out) if it keeps our delightful Westside from being overrun and "Boulderized." What harm is it to me they (City Council / County Commissioners) continually pass their nonsensical/pointless political diatribes? It's a bit selfish but if the secret of how spectacular our actual quality of life is in our COS Westside pocket of goodness actually got out to the rest of the country, we'd all be paying double or triple of what we currently pay to live here, which would sort of defeat the purpose. Might as well just give up and go to Boulder at that point and try to tune-out the left-wing crazies who run things up there.

You make a heck of a good point. Especially about Colorado Springs having it's ultra-conservative image that tends to scare people off. I've said before that that is an off-handed bonus to living here. People tend to hear and believe the stereotypes of Colorado Springs and it has kept this city affordable and relatively undiscovered (relative to Denver, in particular).

I ignore the hard-right factions in this city and do just fine. I ignore the burgeoning hipster and Manitoid faction and do just fine. I like to live my life and have no qualms with how others live theirs. It's one thing I love about Colorado Springs, that libertarian mindset.

Originally Posted by airventure

I don't understand this idea at all. Don't we already do this by dividing up the city into neighborhoods? I agree there's a certain charm to that. However, dividing up a city to properly divide stereotyped people? I don't get that.

True but don't the divisions between neighborhoods speak as strongly as a literal division of the city would? If someone says they live in the Broadmoor or Skyway neighborhood, it's assumed they have money and like to show it in their expensive houses in the fancy neighborhoods. If someone says they live in Knob Hill or on Fountain and Chelton, it presumes a poorer image since those aren't the "better" parts of town. Certain neighborhoods are already stereotyped. Splitting the city wouldn't really affect that, IMO.

I'm totally playing devil's advocate on this subject. It's interesting to me that it has come to a point that folks are starting to seriously think about dividing our city into more than one. Personally, I'd prefer that it stays one entity and Colorado Springs just gets its act together and becomes even better than it already is.

[shanen]

Count me in

[BornintheSprings]

Its an interesting idea it likely won't ever happen, but I would get behind it. Any time I go up north or out east I already feel like I am in a different city.