Creating a thriving pedestrian-friendly district.
Careful consideration was given to ensure that the team remained sensitive to the original 400′ grid while reducing the overall width of the right-of-way.
Seamless connections to the rest of downtown de-emphasize vehicular traffic to the benefit of visitors walking, biking, and rolling.
The project spurs the revitalization of the Southwest Downtown District.
In urban districts across the country, revitalization efforts have led with the public realm and an eye on catalyzing private development, Vermijo Avenue ties into and expands the downtown core while creating a connection to the newly-built U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. It also creates major new public and private spaces resulting in an active and exciting street that will spur development in the area for years to come. Activating a previously underutilized pace, the project created an equitable oasis in the heart of Colorado Springs and serves as a reprieve from the surrounding city.
Flexible streets were designed at the human scale for year-round use for day-to-day events of all sizes, creating new, 20-hour activation and placemaking. Innovative hidden green infrastructure elements create an ideal environment in which trees can thrive and also set the standard for the district to be a leader in sustainable practices going forward.
Photography courtesy of AECOM
