Lamar Loop Gains Ground

Excavating Loop Pathway on West Side of Willow Creek Park

The Lamar Loop, an eight mile hiking path that will encompass a major portion of the community, is making progress with recent construction efforts. This past summer, city crews improved a dirt and gravel pathway running eastwards along the canal which leads from Willow Creek Park across from the public tennis courts, following the creek to CR HH.5.

Northern View of Pathway

The Loop project is being funded from a GoCO Inspire Grant awarded to the City of Lamar several years ago.  The project was put on hold in order to develop news plans that matched the size of the grant to the estimated cost of the project from area construction bids.  The overall project is in the neighborhood of $1,000,000.

Completed Strip on East Side of Park

Within the past two weeks, MonCor, the company selected for the major portion of the construction, widened a pathway around Willow Creek Park, bordering the lawn adjacent to the roadways. According to Parks and Recreation Director, Rick Akers, Willow Valley Road from the Pike’s Peak Tower entrance travelling east and north to the tennis courts has recently been covered with asphalt and the same treatment is expected to be completed on the western side of the park along Parkview Avenue.

Greenbelt Area of Loop Off Airport Road and 14th St.

Additional construction is underway along the greenbelt west of Lamar. This path, according to Akers, will be made of concrete and runs south, parallel to, but a distance away from South 14^th Street.  The concrete loop will run from Sherman Street to Maple Street along the sides of the road, pick up at Oak Street towards the green belt to Ft. Bent Canal.  From there it will move to 14th Street, crossing the Canal to 11th Street.

Plans call for the Loop to be built in stages, connecting several portions of the public pathway until all sections have been joined.

By Russ Baldwin