El Paso County commissioners got the ball rolling this week on a land swap agreement to map out the future of the New Santa Fe Trail during construction of an adjacent development in the town of Monument.

Commissioners approved the agreement with developer Conexus LLC, which has received approval from Monument for multiple phases of mixed-use construction on 146 acres east of Old Denver Road.

The development now includes a plan to move Old Denver Road to run through the property instead of continuing straight to eliminate cut-through traffic for local residents.

Monument Trustees approve Phases 2 and 3 of preliminary Conexus development plan

The reconfigured roadway will need to intersect the New Santa Fe Regional Trail, a popular county bike and pedestrian pathway following 14 miles of an older railroad right of way starting in Palmer Lake and continuing through the Air Force Academy.

The agreement with the county swaps a 2.3-acre parcel with two smaller parcels of the same acreage and commensurate value. When finalized, the land swap will allow county parks to plan for two trail crossings of Old Denver Road, down from eight originally considered.

Reducing crossings was an important goal for county parks in the negotiations for the development, which started in 2008. Jason Meyer, park planning division manager for El Paso County Parks and Community Services, said in an informal meeting with commissioners in January that avoiding trail crossings in the middle of the road would reduce the risk for pedestrians.

“With the amount of use that this trail gets, it’s beneficial for these crossings to be located at an intersection with some kind of control feature like a stop sign or a light,” he said.

While not yet finalized, the land swap will also provide space to increase parking at a current informal trailhead. The trail crossings are subject to review by the Land and Water Conservation Fund through the National Park Service, which provides funding, and the town of Monument.