commute from monument to schriever? (Denver, Aurora: houses, landscaping, YMCA)

[millsy]

hello again,

just wondering if this would be at all a possibility? looks like an hour commute, which i'm fine with...but is traffic/weather going to turn this into a commute from hell? woodmoor area looks perfect for our family...just wondering if this is realistic (?)

millsy

[Charles]

Originally Posted by millsy

hello again,

just wondering if this would be at all a possibility? looks like an hour commute, which i'm fine with...but is traffic/weather going to turn this into a commute from hell? woodmoor area looks perfect for our family...just wondering if this is realistic (?)

millsy

Woodmoor to Schriever is 50 minutes. I drive it every day from near 105 and Roller Coaster to SAFB. It is the easiest 50 minute drive in the world. The two ways to go are 105 to 83 to Powers to Woodmen (or Stetson) to Marksheffel to 94 to Curtis. Advantages: Can run errands along Powers.

OR

The more preferred way is 105 to 83 to Hodgen to Meridian to Stapleton (which turns into Judge Orr) to Curtis. Advantages: Very scenic, no cars at all, can make a couple of stops in Falcon (groceries, fast food, wal mart, auto parts, hair cut, etc). Hodgen can be icy in winter as a lot of it is in the shade. Also, I think Hodgen is going to be closed for construction in May or something....not sure...but there are alternative scenic routes too.

[millsy]

Charles,

Thanks once again for the speedy reply....we are flying out in Feb. to house hunt and are really trying to narrow down our 'homes of interest' We are really excited about the Woodmoor area....great news about the commute!

Thanks again!
Becky

[vfrpilot]

We are really excited about the Woodmoor area.

We've been here 3+ years and really enjoy it. Just got done helping my neighbor shovel her driveway. She works at Schriever also. Feel free to DM if you have any questions about our area.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by millsy

Charles,

Thanks once again for the speedy reply....we are flying out in Feb. to house hunt and are really trying to narrow down our 'homes of interest' We are really excited about the Woodmoor area....great news about the commute!

Thanks again!
Becky

If you have questions, let me know. I live about three miles east of Woodmoor and I am very familiar with Woodmoor and the surrounding area: planned and present shopping and land use, traffic patterns and plans, Monument's position from Denver and COS, etc. Woodmoor has a lot of of retired military people - just letting you know of the rumored underlying culture. I've never been in the military and the military culture doesn't bother me; there are also quite a few retired people too - be aware of moving next door to them since you have kids. We sort of got unlucky at our house; we're surrounded by retired people whereas a block away other families are surrounded by tens and tens of kids....just bad luck for us. A weird coincidence.

I work at Schriever and chose to live far north in Monument because Monument (besides being a nice place to live with good schools) is commutable to all of the springs and most of south Denver including the Lockheed facility at Waterton canyon, Buckley AFB, the Denver Tech Center, Boeing Aurora, etc - all less than an easy hour commute.

For example, a new charter school and a mini mall are being built on the north side of Highway 105 just east of Jackson Creek. Some houses' view may be affected. Supposedly the plats and elevations and landscaping will mitigate any problems for nearby residences. Do some keyword searches in the news sources I listed below.

There is a new (Monument Ridge) high school being built between I-25 and Woodmoor drive in the big chunk of land north of Deer Creek Road.

There is a brand new YMCA being built, opening in Spring 2008 across the street west from Lewis Palmer High School.

There is a lot of retail and (maybe commercial) at the I-25 & Baptist and I-25 & Interquest intersections. Two new huge movie complexes, shopping centers, and even a waterpark. These are going to be big.

Something a lot of people probably don't know about northern El Paso County: A lot of the land in southern Douglas county that abuts to northern El Paso County is designated as open space. Look up Greenland Open space. That means all that space immediately north of us will retain is beauty and spaciousness.

http://www.douglas.co.us/openspace/

http://www.ccss-online.org/html/greenlandranch2003.html

Lots of (retail) plans for Jackson Creek parkway between Highway 105 and Baptist road.

Supposedly there is going to be a senior retirement center on the south side of Highway 105 (across from the new charter school and mini mall) east of Jackson Creek parkway.

Most people welcome all this new development because ten years ago there was hardly any shopping in Monument. Everyone had to drive to the Springs or Castle Rock.

If I were you I would hit these sources hard:

www.ourcommunitynews.org (start downloading the PDF back issues)

http://www.zwire.com/site/tab10.asp?brd=2713