Whats New

Tapis has been awarded the Blodgett Open Space Master and Management Plan. The Tapis Team includes ERO Resources, Chickenango Marketing Solutions, Chinook LA, and Wilson & Company. Stay tuned – we will be initiating the public engagement soon!

We are delighted to be part of the Wilson & Company team for the Garden of the Gods Detention Pond recently awarded the Engineering Excellence Award by ACEC. Tapis’ contributions included coordination with the Parks to remove and cultivate indigenous plant materials for replanting after facility construction, design coordination, construction documents defining extensive soil preparation, native seeding, planting, temporary water source, irrigation and extensive on-site construction review. Congratulations to the City of Colorado Springs and the Wilson & Company team!

On September 3, 2020 the TAPIS designed North Trail at the Manitou Incline was officially opened with a COVID-compliant ribbon cutting. Priscilla and Bill were honored to join dignitaries, local advocacy representatives, and Colorado Springs staff to hike from stair 1300 to the base of the Incline on the new North Trail.

We are participating in the PTBA 2019 Sustainable Trails Conference: Community Trails for Healthy Economic Development in Grand Junction, CO, March 19-21.  The Professional Trail Builders Association (PTBA) is the world’s only private sector group of professional trail contractors, designers, and consultants.

Educational and demonstration sessions span all areas of trailbuilding – from innovative trail design, to building a pump track, to communicating effectively with stakeholders, to working effectively with youth corps and volunteers, to current trail science.  We look forward to sharing new ideas with our colleagues at the conference and clients in future collaborations.  

Tapis will join with the Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI) as we engage in a public planning process to reimagine the future of Waldo Canyon. This planning process seeks to develop a set of recommendations that reflects the vision of the community while simultaneously considering new opportunities for outdoor recreation, access, safety, watershed protection, restoration, conservation, and trail connectivity. The key Partners include RMFI, Trails and Open Space Coalition (TOSC), City of Colorado Springs (CoCS) and United States Forest Service (USFS).

This morning we had two curious bobcat kits visit the office.  The mother bobcat slinked under the deck but the kits continued to explore for about half and hour.

‘Doing’ the Manitou Incline was offically legalized on February 1, 2013.  The community celebrated!  The Tapis Associates’ Site Development and Management Plan process built trust between the landowners: US Forest Service, Pikes Peak Cog Railway and Colorado Springs Utilities laying the foundation for legalization. The Plan created the roadmap and negotiated the 13 specific steps required by the Cities of Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs prior to legal opening.   The Tapis Team –  KezziahWatkins, Wilson & Company, Loris and Associates, GreenPlay, ERO Resources and Tapis Associates – celebrates this milestone with our community!  Read more in these news articles.

http://articles.outtherecolorado.com/articles/colorado-2182-stiff-many.html

http://articles.outtherecolorado.com/articles/train-2193-summit-incline.html

http://articles.outtherecolorado.com/articles/incline-2178-crowd-legal.html

Tapis will soon begin work with Wilson & Company on the Mirage Channel Project.  Our intinmate knowledge of front range ecosystems form the foundation of our contribuition in transforming this decaying concrete channel to a funtional and more natural state. 

Tapis Associates and Wilson & Company have a long and successful history of teamwork and collaboration on range of projects with a wide range of complexity.  These projects include:  Uintah Street Bridge, Fillmore Street Improvements, Bijou/Cascade Intersection, Manitou Incline Master and Management Plan, and the 2012 UCCS Master Plan.

Priscilla spoke at the APA Colorado annual conference in Snowmass on October 3rd.  She was joined by Dan Folke, Planning Director for the City of Manitou Springs, Sarah Bryarly landscape architect for the City of Colorado Springs, and Susan Watkins of KezziahWatkins presenting an educational session titled  “2 Cities, 3 Landowners and 2,741 Steps – The Manitou Incline – turning a nuisance into a community asset.”

The Colorado Chapter is the state affiliate of the American Planning Association (APA). The Colorado Chapter is an organization of professionals and citizen planners providing vision and leadership for the future development of Colorado communities. The association serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas, as a network in support of planning professionals, and as a bridge to build cooperation among planners, allied professionals, and the public through education and awareness.

Priscilla will speak at the Colorado Open Space Alliance annual conference in Steamboat Springs on September 19th.  She will be joining Jason Meyer of El Paso County Parks in presenting an educational session titled  “Planning for Sustainable Trails in Black Forest Regional Park.”  http://www.coloradoopenspace.org/2012_session_descriptions.pdf 

The Colorado Open Space Alliance is a statewide organization of publicly funded local and regional open space programs, working cooperatively to share information, create public awareness and foster partnerships needed to protect and preserve the special places of Colorado.