WEEK OF JULY 10, 2025
VOLUME 38 | ISSUE 32
FREE
Lone Tree mobility hub work will impact traffic City joins statewide effort to establish connectivity and multimodal opportunities BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Highlands Ranch is home to deer, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, snakes and more, so it’s important to “take time to notice things and make sure you’re not in a rush,” Holcomb said.
In a statewide effort to emphasize multimodal options and expand connectivity across the state, Lone Tree is among the latest to establish a mobility hub, making it the fifth hub along the Interstate 25 Corridor. Mobility hubs are transportation centers that aim to provide high-quality transportation infrastructure, including real-time passenger information and opportunities to create transit-friendly development. Jessica Myklebust, the RTD director of Region 1, said the hubs are strategically located to conveniently connect various transportation modes. “Ultimately they’re designed to reduce a person’s reliance on their own vehicle, allowing them to easily transition to another mode of transportation,” Myklebust said. “The goal is simplifying travel, reducing wait times and making a more pleasant travel experience.” The Lone Tree hub will connect a network of hubs along I-25 from Fort Collins to Pueblo. The location will also provide access to RTD’s light rails, the city’s Link On Demand transit service, CDOT’s interregional express bus service — known as Bustang — and allow for connectivity through the Lincoln Avenue interchange to jobs, housing and the upcoming Lone Tree City Center. It will be providing “another travel option if they don’t want to get into a car to go see sporting events downtown,” said Myklebust. “This will also provide (people with) another way to reach the Colorado Springs area and other popular destinations along the Front Range.” The $16.5 million project is funded by CDOT, the Denver Regional Council of Governments, Douglas County, the City of Lone Tree and the Southeast Public Improvement Metro District. It is expected to be complete by fall 2026. Construction of the Lone Tree Station Mobility Hub is already underway at the I-25 and Lincoln Avenue interchange. Just south of Lincoln Avenue, construction will include slip ramps along the I-25 northbound off-ramp and southbound on-ramp for Bustang services, and allow for safer access for pedestrians. Bus shelters, new sidewalks and a passenger pick-up and drop-off
SEE WILDLIFE, P14
SEE MOBILITY, P16
Sandy Holcomb, right, along with other Highlands Ranch Metro District rangers, rescued ducklings from a stormwater grate in 2023. COURTESY OF SANDY HOLCOMB
‘Keep wildlife wild,’ say Highlands Ranch rangers Pros offer tips to residents looking to enjoy outdoors BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Whether they are flying through the sky, jumping from flower to flower or skimming through the grass, Highlands Ranch is just as much a home to wildlife as it is to the human residents.
“Not every community enjoys the advantage of having open space and wildlife just outside your back door,” said Sandy Holcomb, an urban park ranger coordinator with the Highland Ranch Metro District. “We’re trying to make sure everyone’s good stewards of that.” Both humans and wildlife like to take advantage of the outdoors throughout Highlands Ranch and enjoy the scenic views. Therefore, Holcomb encourages people to stay on the trails because it poses a danger to wildlife when people
VOICES: 8 | PUZZLES: 19 | CALENDAR: 20
go off trail. “When we create bare ground and social trails, that actually damages the plant-life balance,” Holcomb said. She added that while enjoying the nature that comes with the summertime, sometimes people forget that they still need to be alert and know what’s around them. Holcomb often speaks to preschool and elementary school students about how well the wildlife in Highlands Ranch can camouflage themselves.
“Sometimes you don’t see wildlife because they blend in there so well,” said Holcomb. “They’re watching you — maybe more than we’re watching them.” Knowing your neighbors
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