The impact of traffic flow in neighborhoods around the busy I-25 and Arapahoe Road interchange is a major concern for some citizens attending the Centennial City Council on Monday night.
An overflow crowd of more than 100 residents of Walnut Hills and nearby neighborhoods expressed concerns over a lack of information on possible change to the interchange some feel may drive unwanted traffic into residential areas.
Centennial District 3 councilwoman Rebecca McClellan said many of her constituents felt variations to the planned construction could send large numbers of cars onto streets like East Briarwood Boulevard and past an elementary school.
The project is going into an environmental assessment phase, where there will be opportunity for public input, according to Sherry Patten, Centennial Director of Communications. Patten said some of the overflow crowd expressed an interest in having more than the usual three public input sessions on the project.
McClelland said she felt a city strategist on the project had not been in touch with her as a member of the project coalition or the other District 3 representative, Patrick Anderson.
McClellan said constituents felt they were not informed on possible project variations and "want a seat at the table" in the future.
Walnut Hills resident Joe Ferrarello said he organized meetings with neighbors, including utilizing so-called "robo-calls" to rally attendance at the meeting after it became apparent many residents didn't know the implications for the reconfiguration of the I-25 underpass on neighborhood traffic.
"I hope what happens next is we're going to stay involved with the process," Ferrarello said, saying a Web site is being developed and that people can e-mail him at
info@centennialneighbors.org.
Patten said the demands for more public input "was like putting the cart before the horse," noting the environmental assessment will take 12 to 18 months and that funding for the project has yet to be established.
Resident Erin Jones, in a pre-meeting letter expressing her concerns on YourHub.com, said she had concerns that Mayor Randy Pye had a potential conflict of interest in his work with Capitol Solutions, a government and public affairs firm, which works with developers. At the mayor's request, Jones retracted her statement about a potential conflict of interest.