An email from Kent Obee, the President of Save Cheyenne Dear Friends: As I am sure many of you know, a draft Master Plan for North Cheyenne Canyon Park (minus Strawberry Fields) was unveiled to the public earlier this month. It is also available for review online at coloradosprings.gov/NCCMasterPlan. The comment period for the draft plan ends this Sunday, March 18th. Aside from the belief that this plan should have been done before the City/Broadmoor land swap -- or delayed until after the Save Cheyenne legal challenge to the trade had run its course, we believe the current draft plan is itself deeply flawed. We would urge you to closely review the plan and make your concerns known. Following are several key objections we have: -- More than any other Parks Department master plan I have seen, the current NCC plan is a grab bag of proposals. It is also truly a blank check for the Parks Department management. Possible actions that are disavowed in one part of the plan pop up again later -- largely in the so-called "toolbox" -- pages 65-67 Please read this section carefully -- particularly in terms of things like shuttle busses and significant changes to the North Canyon road. -- Look closely at the recommendations (both stated and implied) for what is left of the South Canyon in the park and the large (and spectacularly beautiful) mesa below Mount Cutler which separates the North and South Canyons. There is enough in the plan to basically cut off and sterilize this area from use by the public. Look at option 8.3 in the toolbox -- the plan's preferred option which turns Mesa Avenue into a Broadmoor shuttles only gated roadway and totally obliterates the South Canyon road. These two actions obviously also eliminate all the roadside picnic options along the South Creek. -- Many of the trail development proposals are good -- even desirable. But again, look closely. The recommended trail along the North Creek is going to require substantial rearrangement of the valley floor including blasting and cantilever constructs. Do we really want/need this? -- The draft has more about "marketing" of the park than any plan I have ever seen. Yes, it is great for visitors to enjoy our parks and open spaces, but many of us feel strongly that these resources exist first and foremost for the citizens of Colorado Springs. Cramming in still more people is a dubious proposition at best. Your voices matter. Please take the time to send your own emails. Here is a link to a sampling of emails which have been sent for ideas: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CphxbUjKGQmUQxX7AAYmCdtfHvupVxey3G4XGuL6buo/edit?usp=sharing Change.org petition: (sign it if you have not and ask others to as well). Email it, share it on your facebook page and share it again! Comments should be sent to​: ​Mayor Suthers, jsuthers@springsgov.com and copy the following for transparency: nccmasterplan@springsgov.om, cmehew@springsgov.com, AllCouncil@springsgov.com, savecheyennemountain@gmail.com, zubeck@csindy.com, krdonews@krdo.com, mike.rausch@krdo.com, news@kktv.com, lmartin@kktv.com, news@koaa.com, kduffy@koaa.com, news@fox21news.com, jcole@kxrm.com, jpaul@denverpost.com, info@krcc.com, jim.alexee@sierraclub.org Also, for those of you who have already sent emails to AllCouncil or individual Council members, please be sure copies went to NCCmasterplan@springsgov.com and cmehew@springsgov.com Thanks -- and best wishes -- Kent Obee -- on behalf of the Save Cheyenne Board