Mountain Metro is one of the best tools we have for getting people onto trails without a car and are currently taking public comments on proposed bus route changes coming in October (link). Right now, two of our most-loved parks are nearly invisible to the bus network—and small changes would fix that.
A. Palmer Park. Route 12 already ends at the Space Center side of the park, but that stop sits about a mile from the main trailheads on Maizeland and Paseo Roads. Templeton Trail, Yucca Flats, the mesa loops—all of it is uphill from the bus. Moving or adding a stop closer to those trailheads would turn a long residential walk into a short one. The stops along Palmer Park Boulevard also aren’t wheelchair accessible, so this is an equity fix too.
B. North Cheyenne Cañon. Helen Hunt Falls and St. Mary’s Falls are classic Springs destinations, but no bus gets close. The canyon road is narrow and winding, so a full stop is tough—but even a seasonal shuttle or a drop-off near the lower canyon entrance would connect thousands of riders to one of the most popular trail systems in the city.
Both are low-cost asks. Palmer Park is a stop relocation. North Cheyenne Cañon is a seasonal pilot. Neither requires new routes—just treating parks as destinations, the way Seattle, Portland, and the Twin Cities already do. Pikes Peak Outdoors is submitting both stops for consideration.
