Open House Summary (March 2, 2026)

Thank you to the 79 community members who attended the open house at EPIC on Monday, March 2. We appreciate the thoughtful questions, conversations and feedback shared throughout the evening.

Attendees reviewed background information and historical context, concept renderings of potential access improvements, traffic study results and the criteria that guide when the south gate may be opened.

Click here to view the PDF boards shared at the open house.

Key Information Shared:

• The south gate on Stuart Street will not be permanently opened.
• Traffic studies were conducted in August, November and December 2025 to better understand existing conditions.
• To study traffic impacts during peak activity, the gate has been open during large events since 2023. The number of openings by year is:
  1. 2023: 13
  2. 2024: 14
  3. 2025: 13
• Concept designs illustrate potential accessibility and safety enhancements, additional sidewalks, improved pedestrian and bicycle safety and a new ADA-accessible path to the Veterans Memorial.

Criteria for Opening the Gate

The gate will be opened for vehicle traffic exiting EPIC if one or more of the following conditions occur:

1. An event or events are expected to have more than 450 people leaving EPIC within a one-hour window.
2. The parking lot exceeds 85% capacity (281 of 330 spaces).
3. Emergency Services determines opening the gate is necessary.
4. It is more than two hours before school begins or after school ends at Riffenburgh Elementary School and Ridgeview Classical School.

These procedures will be followed by City of Fort Collins Recreation Department staff for regional and local events hosted at EPIC.

What We Heard and Next Steps

We heard a range of perspectives regarding neighborhood traffic, pedestrian and bicycle safety, school circulation and overall access to EPIC. Your feedback is an important part of this process and will help inform next steps as we refine operational procedures.

We will continue to share updates on this webpage as the project moves forward. If you would like to receive future updates directly, please subscribe using the link on the top-right corner of this page.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this project, please reach out to project manager Aaron Harris at AHarris@FortCollins.gov.

If you have questions regarding speed bumps and the Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation Program, please reach out to Lance McCrory at LMcCrory@FortCollins.gov.