What are your thoughts on the possibility of the Colorado Springs metropolitan area growing into a major metropolis? (Denver: insurance, attorneys)

[Trafalgar Law]

Hello,

I experienced Colorado Springs for the first time ever back in March. I was amazed by the place and in many ways preferred what I saw out of Colorado Springs to Denver even.

Currently the Colorado Springs metropolitan area is the second largest in the state of Colorado after Greater Denver. Present day the metropolitan area of Colorado Springs has about 700,000 people and is growing at an astonishingly rapid rate. I have zero doubts that this area will in a few decades eclipse 1 million people.

However, while population growth staves off questions about area desirability and improves an area's national reputation (people moving there), there are also downsides that come with growth and population increase, namely things such as traffic, pollution, congestion, construction work on infrastructure (which only add to the issues), school systems getting overwhelmed by an excess of student registration without having enough class rooms, gentrification and other inner city urban trends displacing those that have comfortably been entrenched in an area for generations, and other such things.

I wanted to get a locals perspective on how they view population growth and change in their area, especially in an area that's fast changing and evolving like Colorado Springs. What are some issues or benefits that you see from all this growth?

Thanks in advance.

[Bolo99]

No I do NOT like that. Let Denver be the major metro.

[hollyt00]

IMO the majority of the growth is going to happen to the north/east as it is "cheap" land and people can build huge homes out there. While I do see some growth and interest in the downtown areas, overall there is no incentive for people to buy a fixer upper from the '50s (I'm thinking by Wasson HS) when they can build a monster brand new home out on the plains.

I don't see CSprings as changing quickly. It's the same- always growing to the north and to the east.

District 11 (central) is losing students and closing schools. The growth in the Springs is uneven.

[BornintheSprings]

I would love the springs to grow into a major city with a dense urban downtown and a good public transit network.

[Trafalgar Law]

I truly like your city and metropolitan area. It seemed like an excellent place to live and setup foundations for a family. I hadn't ever given Colorado Springs much thought prior to seeing it, but it exceeded my expectations completely.

I think it'll be a great big city/big metropolitan area alternative to Denver in the future.

[BornintheSprings]

Originally Posted by Red John

I truly like your city and metropolitan area. It seemed like an excellent place to live and setup foundations for a family. I hadn't ever given Colorado Springs much thought prior to seeing it, but it exceeded my expectations completely.

I think it'll be a great big city/big metropolitan area alternative to Denver in the future.

I agree I really hope it happens. I've watched this place grow from a oversized town to a true city. It is a sight to behold. I hope it continues to grow and improve as time marches on.

[otowi]

As someone who has lived here my whole life and heard all the stories of my parents and grand parents who also grew up here, it is a little hard not to feel nostalgia for the smaller city that once was. I just hope that whatever growth happens is done responsibly - with due consideration for what makes this place great - the views, the access to nature, the semi-undisturbed open areas, the history - and for future needs like water, power, and so on. It is possible to love a place to death and when we compare going up into the mountains from my childhood or my parents' to today, I think we could be doing some of that. So I don't want a wild uncontrolled boom, no. But whatever our future holds, I want it to retain the things we love about where we live right now indefinitely.

[mtngigi]

"I just hope that whatever growth happens is done responsibly - with due consideration for what makes this place great - the views, the access to nature, the semi-undisturbed open areas, the history - and for future needs like water, power, and so on"

Yes, me too. But I think that horse has left the barn. When I moved here in 1984 from a small town on the western slope - the population was still under 100,000 and it was a city that was just right for me. Not too big, with just enough going on to suit my purposes.

The changes that have occurred since then make me sad. I see nothing responsible about allowing developers to build up and into foothills, ruining views and taking away wildlife habitat to the point where those animals are now in our back yards. I don't understand where anyone thinks more water is going to come from, because we sure don't have enough now.

There's nothing about the way CS has grown that makes any sense, at least to me. It is being loved to death. Personally, I feel one Denver-like city is enough.

Just my 2¢.

[TCHP]

Not sure how I feel about that, in all honesty, because unless we pull our collective heads out of our butts, the growth is not working towards a master plan nor is it managed in a way that is controlled for preventing sprawl, bad traffic, and the host of other issues that come with the growth and I can't see it being controlled anytime in the near future.

First and foremost is water. Without it, there is no reason to grow. While you, the OP, have visited here and found it appealing, it is hard to impress upon someone just visiting in the springtime how the shortages of water in the west can become a radical growth limiter. We don't own the water that falls from the sky, we don't have any significant water flowing in our creek beds, we have to pipe in all the water we use from the Continental Divide and further and the water tables underground are shrinking. Unless we retain or attract some pretty wiz bang attorneys who can go toe to toe with the best from Denver, California, and Arizona, we will be hard pressed to secure adequate supplies. At what point does this become self limiting, I'm not sure. I'd bet there are documents on this, but they are not easily found.

Infrastructure, where to even begin with that. We did a better job of maintaining the city with 250,000 person tax base than we do with a 500,000 tax base. Unless we can overturn Tabor and become fiscally more responsible, not conservative, but responsible, the growth will kill the city while it rots form within. Example, we have three major north/south routes through the city with 6 lanes each. There is only one east/west corridor comparable to that. Why?

Can the environment we all love grow with us? I doubt it. Red Rocks Open Space and Garden of the Gods are already at saturation points. The Incline requires more regular maintenance for the traffic it receives. To put additional park space to the north and east does not solve the problems that are faced by the natural wonders that are found on the west and south-west side, not to mention they take water.

As hollyt00 points out, there is zero incentive to "re"build infrastructure in the more central areas of the city. It takes a rare organization to see these, much less actually act on that sort of plan and there are no champions of this in city council that will promote this type of improvement. We also have had two major wildfires on the fringe of town, and despite all the work being done to avoid a repeat in those areas, there is little to no work being done towards several developments within the city that could similarly burn, nor some others further south of those previous burn areas.

Is the city better now than it was 30 years ago? Depends on perspective. We had two newspapers, we now have one. We had four hospital systems, we now have two. Traffic, while not bad at all compared to coastal cities, is horrendous compared to what it once was. Good fishing, not happening within a two hour drive. Hiking, hope you like sharing with a lot of people. Jobs, a high school graduate then could get on with a local manufacturer and make a very good living without a college degree. Now their can have their choice of fast food chains and telemarketing centers. The truly good jobs require a college degree and more as healthcare and military are the best employers now. There are some phenomenal paying jobs if you have IT undergrad degree, can write code, have 20 years of military service with 10 years of missile systems experience, and an MBA. The Pikes Peak Hillclimb has changed forever and may eventually become an insurance underwriters nightmare and die as a result.

On the flip side, I can eat at nearly any national chain restraunt I chose. There are more variety of local cafes and food styles than ever before. The local theater groups have enough patrons and bring in enough viewers that they can put together some really quality shows. The artistic community continues to grow, although the arts districts are becoming too expensive for most artists to live in. I have had the chance to meet some really great people, although rarely do I ever meet anyone from here or even Colorado. I do see some older neighborhoods that are not only recovering, but starting to thrive. We finally have 6 lanes worth of interstate (should be 8-10, IMO). I can go watch a roller derby, go to a strip club, or watch the Pride parade, but I cannot see any motorsports without a drive to Pueblo or Denver.

IMO, it really is a mixed bag. Yet despite that, I do stay. I do wonder why sometimes, but I'm not sure if I really want to leave. I'm eternally optimistic that it will improve and do try to do whatever little bit I can to help improve things. I contact elected officials, I volunteer for boards, I get involved in trade groups, and contribute what time I can for causes I feel are important locally. Only time will tell if it is enough.

[lovecrowds]

That won't happen as the economy is Colorado Springs is one of the worst in America.

I think the only chance at sustained population growth would be if Denver sustained it's continued economic boom for many more years, then I think there is a chance you could see Northern El Paso County riding on Denver economic coattails.

Colorado Springs has one of the worst economic bases for a place of it's size and that is not going to change.

Colorado Springs being as beautiful as it is, I don't see escalating population growth any time soon.

I don't think growth is a good idea for Colorado Springs. I saw some IRS numbers that showed that the average tax filing had an adjusted gross-income of $46,000. Considering this it is a very married city that is not good news.

Colorado Springs has more lower-income people moving in then vice versa.

The only real hope for the city in my opinion is to attract retirees. Colorado Springs has alot to offer retirees such as expanding health care resources, beautiful scenery, very cheap housing prices per square foot and extremely low property taxes.

How can a city grow with an economy like this.

Colorado Springs MSA population: 697,000 Non-Farm payroll employment: 275,000 Private Sector Jobs: 225,000
Colorado Springs : Mountain?Plains Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Des Moines MSA: population 622,000 Non-Farm Payroll: 351,000 Private Sector Jobs: 307,900
Des Moines : Midwest Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Madison MSA: population: 641,000 non-farm payroll: 392,000
nearly 60,000 less people then Colorado Springs and yet 117,000 more people on the payrolls.

Lexington, KY: population: 500,000 non-farm payroll: 276,000
Lexington, Kentucky has nearly 200,000 people less its metro area and yet has more employed in it's economy.
Lexington : Southeast Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Colorado Springs is a beautiful city, but beauty doesn't translate into employment. The only thing holding up this city is the temporary economic boom in Denver, government workers, retirees and pensions.