South Central Council of Governments
Collaborative Planning Process Kicks-off for Road and Trail Improvement Options on Colorado’s Scenic Highway of Legends Designed to Spur Tourism
Southeastern Colorado — The South Central Council of Governments (SCCOG) and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) are developing options for transportation improvements on Colorado’s Scenic Highway of Legends (SHOL) Byway which stretches roughly 82 miles on the corridor between Walsenburg and Trinidad along US 160 and CO 12. This corridor has additionally been identified as the Southern Mountain Loop (SML) of the Colorado Front Range Trail (CFRT) – a planned multi-purpose trail from Wyoming to New Mexico along the Front Range.
“While tourism has had a positive impact to date, our two-county tourism economy has lagged behind other regions within the state,” said Walt Boulden, Executive Director of South Central Council of Governments. “A renewed vision and investment plan for the Corridor, entailing highway safety, bicycle/recreational trail, and byway-related infrastructure improvements, can be a driving force in realizing the full potential of our region.”
The improvement options are being developed through the SML Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Study which will produce a comprehensive investment plan to serve visitors and all users. It will integrate highway safety with bicycle/recreational trail and byway-related improvements. This project will work with community stakeholders from Trinidad to Walsenburg to analyze and develop a range of improvements resulting in a blueprint for developing highway safety improvements. The corridor is a primary trail route so the study will also look at the best locations to access other existing hiking and bicycle trails, and will include byway-related tourism improvements. The study will take a closer look at issues that need to be addressed in the course of creating a biking and hiking path along the Corridor.
The public is invited to participate in coffee chats and public open houses over the next 16 months. A public open house meeting is planned to occur this summer before development of study recommendations.
Sign up to receive project information and notices of public open houses by sending an email to SouthernMountainLoop@gmail.com or call 719-427-1078.
