In the news
April 11, 2023
CANYON COURIER
CANYON COURIER
CANYON COURIER
Op-Ed by Barbara Moss Murphy February 28, 2023
When Development Forcasts Trouble,
Not Progress
It has been said, nothing stays the same. In Conifer, Colorado, many of us who have lived here for decades have witnessed the changes.
Shopping centers, restaurants and businesses have grown along the U.S. 285 corridor to serve an increasing population, and 285 has been widened in areas to ease the traffic flow to and from the mountains. Cell phones and computers (for the most part) now enjoy Internet access.
But the Conifer signature that endures, the reason we all live here, is the incomparable natural beauty of the meadows and mountainsides we are graced with every day.
To be sure, our area has faced challenges inherent in many mountain communities, most prominent of which is the threat of devastating wildfires. The 1996 Buffalo Creek Fire in Pine burned 12,000 acres, taking ten homes and two lives, the Bailey High Meadow Fire in 2000 burned 10,800 acres and 51...
Op-Ed by John Lewis October 27, 2022
There are many clear reasons why this location on narrow, winding Shadow Mountain Drive is absolutely wrong for a commercial bike park, or any other commercial operation. By far the biggest impact from the proposed Shadow Mountain Bike Park (changed from the more aggressive Full Send Bike Ranch), would be a sizable deluge of traffic. The developers are expecting more than 700 downhill and freestyle mountain bikers daily with the potential of more than 500 cars coming to and leaving from the bike park on a peak day — equaling 1,000 vehicle trips on Shadow Mountain Drive.
I live in a beautiful area of Colorado. The aspens and evergreens on the hillsides with creeks ambling through are why people come here. So, it was a huge shock for me and thousands of others when two young developers announced their intentions to build a 273-acre chairlift access downhill mountain bike park in the middle of a pristine, environmentally important meadow in the heart of our bucolic Conifer, Colorado neighborhood.
by Deb Hurley Brobst October 27, 2022
Shadow Mountain is Drive traffic a concern
Residents say a proposed bike Park would add to unsafe conditions
If Jefferson County considers Shadow Mountain Drive unsafe for motorists now, why would it entertain a proposal for a mountain bike park that would add up to 1,000 trips a day? That was the message of a virtual meeting on October 17 hosted by the Conifer & South Evergreen Community Committee with Colorado State patrol Troop commander for the Conifer area, the Jefferson County traffic operations manager and a traffic engineer as the guest speakers. They discussed issues with safety on the road and possible solutions with about 50 residents. Phil Bouchard, one of the developers of the proposed Shadow Mountain Bike Park, also spoke about the road’s safety. Bouchard and Jason Evans hope to submit their proposal to Jefferson County in November for a downhill mountain bike park on 230 acres two miles down Shadow Mountain Drive from Highway 73.
Denver Post
"He worries about hundreds of vehicles traversing narrow Shadow Mountain Drive every day, negotiating blind curves and racing past driveways to reach the bike park. He worries about impacts to wildlife and to the bucolic views he and his neighbors have enjoyed for decades.
He also worries about an increase in wildfire danger — a flicked cigarette from a moving car, perhaps — to an area that is already tinder dry.”
Channel 7
"For our health and wellness, this will be a detriment for us and make it more dangerous to live here," Chatwin said. "We have over 4,600 people that have signed our petition and over half of those live within a few miles of this area." Community members told Denver7 they have a long list of reasons why they believe the area is not ideal for a bike park, to include: traffic, wildfire danger, natural resource depletion and first responder availability."
Canyon Courier
"A battle is brewing as residents along Shadow Mountain Drive prepare to officially oppose a plan to put a free-ride mountain bike park on the road two miles from Highway 73. Known as Full Send Bike Ranch, the proposal has caused neighbors to create a nonprofit called Stop Full Send Bike Ranch to work to stop the bike park that wants to locate on 250 acres of land owned by the State Land Board. They are most concerned about traffic, the additional workload for emergency medical services, wildlife that migrate through the area and more."
Denver Post
"The Full Send bike park (not “ranch” – ask any local rancher) expects 700 or more motor vehicles a day at its proposed 250-acre site, located 2.2 miles west of Jefferson County Highway 73 on Shadow Mountain Drive. To date, over 3,100 Conifer Area residents disapprove and have signed a petition to the County Planning Commission opposing the park. This letter discusses one of perhaps a score of reasons not to build the park. There are, possibly, two in its favor: neither of which benefit area residents."