@Fiscal Realist-I think that what you describe is certainly part of the problem. Having said that, CS and El Paso Cnty aren’t alone in their land use decisions. You can look at just about any town or city, or county in America and see the exact same thing. As I said, the growth model post WWII is based on cheap energy and cheap land, and a transfer of wealth from the Federal to the State to the local level. By way of example I look to the column that Rich Tosches wrote several months ago regarding the new intersection at Woodman and Academy “Cheering the New Concrete” (csindy.com/colorado/cheering-th…). 50 Million to save drivers seconds on their commute or trip to the grocery store! My simple question…What is the return on investment (ROI)? Are those seconds saved greater than or equal to 50 Million? I doubt it.As I sidebar, having just looked at the map again I’ll throw out a hypothetical situation. Say I live close to that interchange (perhaps at Shrider and Grashio) and I want to have dinner with my wife at Pei Wei. It would be easier, and quicker, for us to walk there(it’s a little over 1,000 feet), or better yet, ride our bikes (so we can pretend like we’re young and in love again…). However, my wife and I aren’t crazy. We inherently recognize that the interchange is NOT for people on foot or bike. Effectively, our ability to CHOOSE a mode of transport we may prefer has been taken away from us..we’ve become limited to one choice only (which isn’t really a choice if it’s only one option) So instead, we get in our car and drive a half mile, search for a parking space, and end up walking about 1/3 of the distance we would have walked if we had a choice in the first place (unless we park in the handicap spot…). After dinner my wife says “Oh…I just LOOOOOVVVEEEE Pinkberry! How about we get some?” In a traditional neighborhood we’d just walk across the street (400-500 feet in this case) and grab some Pinkberry before heading home. Along the way we might pop into another local business with a cute window display and perhaps spend a little more money. In Colorado Springs’ case, we again MUST get in our car, drive 400-500 feet, and again find a place to park. The Fiscal Realist in ME ends up at home pissed that I just spent money on gas that I wouldn’t have had to spend if I lived in a traditional neighborhood. Up to this point we’ve been able to borrow for our growth, but it seems clear that we no longer have that luxury (and we’ve reached the end of the 1st and 2nd lifecycles for the infrastructure we built. It must be replaced). We must start to maximize ROI with public funds! The funny thing is that, though many of us have known only this type of development, it’s been an experiment for the last 60+ years. I say “experiment” b/c this model of “growth” has literally never been seen in the history of mankind prior. We HAD TO design on a human scale. “Human” scale development maximizes ROI (vs. Automobile scale. Think of what you are able to see on foot vs. what you see at 45 mph). Think of the best small and big town downtown areas that you’ve been to in your life. I guarantee that each one had buildings that came to the properties edge (not set-back behind acres of parking) and engaged the public realm, had public art, wide sidewalks, slow moving traffic, and lots of people walking around looking at window displays, shopping, and people watching. There was probably a good mix of uses…businesses on the bottom floor, apartments and lofts on top. It probably provided easy connections on foot or bike to the surrounding neighborhoods. The surrounding neighborhoods had a population density high enough to support the broad range of businesses in the downtown area and the grid design of the streets allowed that density without neighbors feeling like they lived “on top” of each other. Like the neighborhoods surrounding downtown CS, the car was relegated to the area behind the homes, along with the trash and utilities allowing the porch to be the most prominent feature of the home (Porches are FANTASTIC community builders! They allow you, the homeowner to have privacy if you’d like while being able to invite your neighbor up for a chat or a cup of joe…oh, and it also put “eyes on the street”, crucial to public safety. The public face of most new homes in the US today is a GARAGE…not exactly conducive to being a good neighbor and not particularly welcoming). There was probably a larger civic space or park that held farmers markets, concerts, political rally’s, etc. Any one block in that downtown area cost less to build and maintain than it’s suburban counterpart at the same time it captured more value. It had a high return on investment. That’s the way we used to build space…for people not cars. It’s time to do that again.