To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
Daniel Sailer, Director of Public Works
From: Thomas Reiff, Transportation Planner
Title
Resolution Approving the Town of Castle Rock Transportation Master Plan
Body
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Executive Summary
This project updated the traffic volume forecast in the Town’s Transportation Master Plan (TMP) in order to update identified project priorities, and understand any new project needs since the last update. The TMP is the guiding transportation document for the Town and is part of the Town’s overall Comprehensive Master Plan. The goals of the update are to identify transportation projects that will maintain capacity of existing roadways, ensure efficient road network connections for future development, and fill existing gaps in the street network to accommodate growth continues as envisioned in the Town’s Comprehensive Master Plan. No changes to the recommended bike and pedestrian system have occurred with this update.
This update allowed the Town to confirm and amend the current roadway project priority list, and analyze eight new intersections as budget allowed. These intersections were selected based on proposed development projects and projected growth areas. The eight intersections and analysis can be viewed in Section 5 (page 27) of the report. Improvement projects have been tiered based on priority and what projects are needed within the short range (by 2030), mid-range (by 2040), and long range (by full build out, or 2040-2050+). Short term and mid-term needs can aid staff and Town Council in identifying future Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects that will accommodate future transportation needs. The long-range tiered projects assume full build out of the Town by 2050 or beyond. Identified years are meant to illustrate recommended project priorities. Forecasted traffic growth can vary greatly from actual traffic growth based on market conditions.
The traffic forecast update accounted for future developments, such as Dawson Trails, Brickyard, Founders Vista, and Pine Canyon, as well adjacent developments in Castle Pines and Parker. The last time the TMP was updated was in 2017. Since the update there has been land use changes within Town and surrounding communities, and the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) has released a new regional travel demand model. This new regional traffic forecasting model was used for the study.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
The Castle Rock TMP Traffic Forecast Update was a technical study to determine the new traffic forecasts for the Town and surrounding area. It did not include a public outreach element. However, the City of Castle Pines, Town of Parker, and Douglas County were all contacted to collect their growth projections and land uses for communities surrounding Castle Rock.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
Town Council approved the budget for the TMP traffic forecast update in the 2023 budget. Since this was a technical study no public outreach was included in the scope of work.
On May 5, 2025 Town staff presented the TMP update to the Public Works Commission for a recommendation of approval. The Commission voted unanimously to recommend Town Council approve the TMP update.
Discussion
The last major update of the Town’s TMP was completed in 2017. Since 2017, the Town has seen a tremendous growth in population and in the number of residences. While not as pronounced, there has also been a significant growth in commercial, retail, and industrial developments. For example, the Promenade development and the Meadows retail areas have mostly built out and new developments have been built in Downtown since 2017. All of this has led to an increase in daily traffic volumes on the Town’s street network.
Felsburg, Holt, and Ullevig (FHU) was chosen from the Town’s On-call list of consultants to conduct the evaluation and update. FHU was chosen because they performed the last TMP update and can cost effectively update their analysis. They are also approved by DRCOG to utilize the new regional travel demand model and are very familiar with Castle Rock’s transportation system.
Since 2017, the Town has completed significant transportation projects that were identified in the 2017 Transportation Master Plan. These projects have been removed from the updated TMP project list. Among these improvements are:
1. Ridge Road widening
2. Plum Creek Parkway widening
3. 4 Corners intersection (Founders Pkwy/Ridge Rd/5th Street/SH-86) improvements
4. Founders Parkway widening
5. Founders Parkway and Crowfoot Valley Road intersection improvements
The TMP update focused on reevaluating the street network needs and priorities. The update identified short, mid, and long-range transportation projects, and prioritized them based on the projected growth, and land use changes in Town and the surrounding communities. Future land uses were verified with the Town’s Development Services Department and staff from the County, Castle Pines, and Parker. This included updating
the proposed development in Pine Canyon with more housing than the 2017 TMP. Dawson Trails land uses were also updated for less housing, but more jobs than shown in the 2017 TMP. Another development that was added to the new model was the Brickyard and Founders Vista developments. The growth projections assumed full build out of the Town by 2050 in order to identify all transportation projects that may be needed to accommodate the growth.
While many of the projects identified in the 2017 TMP remain, there are new and updated projects to account for the projected growth. Some of the new and updated projects identified include the following;
1. Plum Creek Parkway corridor improvements between Perry Street and the new Dawson Trails Boulevard intersection, including improvements at the I-25 interchange
2. Blackfeather Trail widening to four lanes
3. Intersection improvements at Front Street and Blackfeather Trail/ Hwy 85 intersection
4. Removed the I-25 interchange in the vicinity of the Blackfeather Trail/ Hwy 85 overpass
5. Addition of several new development driven collector streets
There are also four transportation studies recommended in the TMP update. These studies include a feasibility study to extend S. Perry Street from S. Wilcox Street under I-25 to Dawson Trails Boulevard, and a long-term interchange study for reconfiguration of the I-25 and Plum Creek Parkway interchange.
Town staff will utilize this update to assist with recommending budget priorities each year. While the priorities developed within this updated plan are focused on operations and capacity, staff will also base recommendations on impact to the community and revenue forecasts.
Budget Impact
The Plan project was budgeted for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) with account number 120- 3120-431.30-70. The overall amount to complete the task order was $158,225. Project and cost estimates were completed in April 2025.
In coordination with the Public Works Engineering Division, updated project planning cost estimates were developed. Public Works staff will continue to update these program estimates based on inflationary changes.
In order to finance the projects recommended in the TMP update, a few options are identified here for initial discussion. Options two through five would advance the implementation of projects identified in the TMP:
1. Keep funding as it currently exists. Completion of the projects identified in the TMP would likely take several decades to build. The current Transportation Impact Fee on a single-family home is $16,853, and $13,002 on a multi-family unit. Based on forecasted annual growth, the current impact fee is forecasted to generate an average of $10.4 Million each year. It would take close to 22 years to complete all of the recommended projects within the Plan if this amount is extrapolated into the future.
2. Increase Transportation Impact Fees: This will generate revenue at the expense of increased cost to developers, which may be passed on as indirect costs to homeowners and customers of local businesses. See Attachment D illustrating past and current impact fees. For example, if the Transportation Impact Fee was increased approximately 50% this would increase the fees listed in the first option to $25,280 and $19,503 for single and multi-family units respectively. This would potentially decrease the amount of time to complete all projects from 22 years to 16 years.
3. Revised Crystal Valley Interchange exaction fee. Several properties on the east and west side of the Crystal Valley / I-25 interchange have contributed a pro-rata share for the construction of the interchange, usually through existing development agreements. There will likely be other properties in the vicinity that will either develop or annex/develop in the future. Staff has started the process of updating possible exactions for any future developments that might be approved. Revenue from this source is difficult to predict depending upon future development interests, however, it could be used to repay Town funds previously expended for CVI allowing for expenditures on other projects.
4. Issue revenue bonds: Specific projects would be identified and a bond initiative would require approval by a majority of voters. Bond debt is typically paid back from sales tax revenue and impact fee revenue.
5. Capital improvement tax: This would take the form of an increased sales or property tax which would require voter approval. This potential revenue is not recommended.
6. Town staff recommends adoption of the Transportation Master Plan update. Additionally, staff plans to pursue options 2 (revised impact fee) and 3 (revised CVI fee) as noted above, with some exploration of option 4 (revenue bonds) as well.
Staff Recommendation
This update was reviewed with the Public Works Commission at their May 5th meeting. They unanimously recommend that Town Council approve the TMP update.
Proposed Motion
“I move that Town Council approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Alternative motions:
“I move to recommend that the Town Council approve the Resolution, with the following conditions: (list conditions)”
“I move to continue this item to the next Town Council meeting on June 3 to allow additional time to (list information needed)”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Attachment B: TMP Traffic Forecast Update Final May 2025
Attachment C: TMP Update Roadway Improvement Recommendations List
Attachment D: Past and Current Impact Fees