Phasing out of Old Colorado City’s brick sidewalks begins
 A contracted crew pours colored concrete to replace a roughly 45-year-old section of brick sidewalk on the south side of the 2400 block of West Colorado Avenue. Some of the brick that's being retained for now is on the sides and foreground. Westside Pioneer photo
|
In work coordinated by the Old Colorado City Special Improvement Maintenance District (SIMD), colored concrete was poured this fall to replace a sidewalk section on the south side of the 2400 block of West Colorado Avenue (in front of Jorge's and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory).
The Westside Pioneer asked Eric Becker, Colorado Springs Parks administrator for the SIMD, if this is to be the new look for the historic shopping district along the avenue.
Eventually yes, he said.
Using a special tax on OCC property owners, the SIMD is responsible for public improvements there, and Parks implements repairs/upgrades with a City Council-appointed committee of district property owners.
In an e-mail reply, Becker outlined that he and the committee recently assessed the district's sidewalks, finding “many problem paver/sidewalk areas that pose potential safety concerns.”
At the same time, the committee is aware that “with our limited budget, we have lost significant ground trying to keep up with repairs the last several years” and that brick sidewalk work repairs cost “approximately three times as much” as pouring colored concrete.
As a result, for the time being at least, a combination of both materials will be used. “A lot of it will depend on the situation,” Becker elaborated. “In general, the small repairs will most likely be made with the brick pavers, and some of the large areas, like the one we just completed, will be done in colored concrete.”
He continued that “ultimately, we look at these improvements not as a long-term fix, but short-term, to try and improve safety. Long-term (5-10 years) we anticipate the streetscape to be updated, at which time the sidewalks will be replaced with a uniform treatment of regular or colored concrete.”
The brick sidewalks were installed as part of a wide-scale, historically themed revitalization effort in the late 1970s by Old Colorado City business leaders working in conjunction with the city.
Westside Pioneer article