During the Public Open Houses people wrote letters providing input and expressing their concerns. These comments have been summarized as follows:

Flip chart comments

1. Trucks on 287 drive too fast, keep trucks on I-25.
2. Move the weigh station on I-25 and Prospect north to east side of I-25 north of Wellington.

Public Comment Sheets

1. Fort Collins needs a major east-west road on the north side of the urban area. This road could also serve as the truck bypass. The north side of Fort Collins does not have good connector roads such as those on the south side (Horsetooth, Harmony). Fort Collins needs to reconsider Douglas Rd in addition to CR 58.

2. Non-route solutions are the way to go. Where will the lane miles come from so CDOT will provide $?

3. The poster displays did not address the philosophical issue of urban sprawl. A new bypass in the study area will promote development, noise, pollution, etc. in what is now peaceful country. I think a highway is needed, not to solve a truck problem, but to solve a more general transportation problem in the city. The route should be as close to the city as possible.

4. A simple way to get the trucks off 287 would be to lower the speed back to 55mph and enforce it. Truck traffic doubled when CDOT raised the speed limit to 65mph. Take the money allotted to build a new road and pay some highway patrol people to enforce the speed limit. Another observation: when CDOT puts a temporary scale and inspection station on the Frontage Rd, truck traffic drops to almost nothing.

5. Use of outdated photos and maps for displays gives confusing concepts to public. If background streetscape has proposed streets drawn in, they should not be projected as existing, example CR 11 south from Mountain Vista to Vine. Study checkpoints should be accurately located in text and maps.

Comment Sheet Summary
December 13, 2000 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Wellington Junior High School (4001 Wilson Avenue)

Public Comment Sheets

1. We live near the proposed CR 58 Route. Having a major road so near our home would drastically reduce the quality of our lives here. I appreciate your goal of keeping people informed. If you do direct mailings to inform, I think it would be good to indicate on the envelope that it contains information about the bypass. I am afraid people are not likely to get involved until a road seems more imminent and then respond with lots of intensity. Perhaps you could publicize the dates, times and locations of these meetings so people who are not able/willing to be involved enough to be committee members, might be able/willing to attend some of the meetings.

2. We prefer to have the truck traffic use I-80 and I-25. We would like the truck traffic to well north of Wellington. If keeping the trucks on interstates is not possible, Owl Canyon is the furthest south the trucks should come.

3. We feel that the best solution would be to use existing Interstates 80 and 25. If this is not feasible, Owl Canyon or some other route north of Wellington would be preferred.

4. We would hope that the truck traffic would use I-80 and I-25. However if this is not feasible then we want any new truck route to be well north of Wellington.

5. We would hope that a way could be found to have the truck traffic would use I-80 and I-25. However if this is not feasible then we want any new truck route to be extremely north of Wellington.

6. Change truck weight limit on county and state roads to 80000, equal to interstate limit.

Owl Canyon Road Coalition Handout (distributed by others at meetings)

The top 10 reasons why there should never be a truck bypass in Owl Canyon:

10. Owl Canyon Rd is an area of historical significance; portions of the road were selected as Millennium Trail.

9. There are many farms and small acreages along Owl Canyon Rd. More families would be impacted than would have been effected had the bypass been constructed on Vine Dr.

8. An adequate route already exists, I-25 and I-80.

7. Farming and ranching endeavors and the truck bypass are incompatible uses.

6. The occurrence of theft, vandalism, trash, trespassers, destruction of fences and harassment of livestock would increase exponentially.

5. There would be a negative impact on wetlands and a reduction in the wildlife using them for their habitat by pollution.

4. An adverse impact on air quality will result from emissions from increased trucks and other vehicles.

3. Water pollution will lead to loss of livestock and wildlife.

2. The construction of a bypass in Owl Canyon will result in additional sprawl by encouraging more people and business to the area.

1. Fort Collins bypass backers should build their desired bypass in their own backyard.

Owl Canyon Road Coalition
P.O. Box 1433
Wellington, CO 80549