6 days Ago By Gazette readers
Last month, I stood with local teenagers at Garden of the Gods, watching their faces light up as they touched red rock for the first time. Despite living in Colorado Springs their entire lives, many had never visited this iconic park. As communications and advocacy director at Justice Outside, moments like these inspire and trouble me.
The statistics are stark: neighborhoods where residents predominantly identify as people of color have access to an average of 44% less park acreage than predominantly White neighborhoods. In cities across America, this disparity particularly affects low-income communities — the same communities that need nature’s proven benefits for physical and mental health the most. The proposed Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act would transform our community by strengthening programs like “No Child Left Inside” at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, expanding transit options to natural areas and simplifying permits for guided outdoor experiences.
I’ve witnessed the impact firsthand: a teenager discovering her leadership voice while rock climbing at Garden of the Gods, a Spanish-speaking family building connections during guided hikes at Red Rock Canyon Open Space, a veteran finding peace through weekly walks in Palmer Park. These experiences strengthen our entire community. When more neighbors feel connected to Colorado Springs’ natural spaces, they become stewards of these places and active participants in our city’s outdoor heritage.
We can make our outdoor spaces truly accessible to all. Support the EXPLORE Act by contacting our representatives. Join local organizations working to diversify outdoor access.
Our city’s motto is “Olympic City USA” — let’s ensure everyone can access the natural training grounds that make this possible. Bren Spector Colorado Springs Susan Davies’ Gazette article Trail Talk: El Paso County residents should consider land preservation during next election contains the following quote: “For some reason, residents of El Paso County have never tried to accomplish what residents in Douglas, Larimer, Jefferson, Boulder and many other Colorado counties have seen come to fruition”. So, here’s a reason: according to salestaxhandbook.
com , El Paso County’s highest maximum sales tax is higher than 72% of Colorado counties and 80% of counties nationwide. I’m sick of our staggering sales tax rate and every imaginable attempt to add ‘just a few more pennies on a dollar to it’ to fund pet projects. The county is full of open space, including Section 16 and many county parks, already paid for with tax dollars — please go enjoy them.
Steve Helmreich Colorado Springs After 30-plus years in Rockrimmon, it is appalling that the PPLD Board chose to close my local library so abruptly, and with no notice or input from the citizens who provide PPLD with tax dollars. The board has chosen instead to spend millions on building new libraries (with free 3D printers!), updating other library facilities, and opening new branches in other areas of the city rather than keep this small inexpensive branch open. There are no other libraries close by as the board has stated.
21C, East Library are inconveniently miles away, impossible to access on snowy, icy roads, and would require an additional 30-40 minute drive to even get there. Perhaps the tax dollars the PPLD Board takes from our neighborhood should no longer go to the PPLD but be set aside and remain “local”. We can do better.
Norma Hollister Colorado Springs I moved back to Cañon City a year ago. We bought a house here and love it, but I cannot help but notice the deer problem we have here in town. They are everywhere! I decided that I would take pictures of the deer I see just in my normal day to day travels.
I took pictures on my way to work, the store, the gym, and I did this for seven days. I have compiled 20 pictures of deer that are in not so deer-friendly spots. I almost hit three on Main Street, I saw one with Halloween decorative spider webs caught in his antlers, I saw a dead one,and my co-worker watched one get hit and die.
She was so upset about it for days. I just want to know why something isn’t being done. Can’t they be relocated to a safe place in these beautiful surrounding mountains? It is not safe for the public or the deer; they are not even afraid of humans anymore.
Sara Leibach Ca ñon City It is my understanding that over 10 million “illegals” have been enabled to enter our nation during the Joe Biden administration due to his “open border” policy. It is also my understanding that many of those illegals were imprisoned convicts in their home nation. And that to rid their nation of those criminals, the officials released them from prison with the orders to head north to America.
Is it any wonder that despite the Biden administration juggling DOJ the facts and figures, crime (much of it violent) has shot up dramatically in especially the “sanctuary cities”? More on crime: In many (if not most) liberal-controlled major cities, the district attorneys announced that our laws for criminals are “racist” because so many people of color are being arrested and imprisoned. To fix this “racist problem,” many of those same DAs instructed their city’s police departments that they need to cut back on arrests and be soft on crime. The criminals learned of this new “soft on crime” ruling, and they are committing crimes with impunity.
I have many good friends who live in the Philadelphia metro region who will not venture downtown because of the rampant and uncontrolled crime. Now we have letter writer George Duncan publicly proclaiming that he will be laughing at “Trump supporters” who want to crack down on liberal-induced crime. In my mind, any good American citizen wants crime to be controlled and eliminated.
John Wear Black Forest.
