**Headline: East Colorado Springs Residents Question City After Decades of Disrepair on Kern Street**

**COLORADO SPRINGS, CO** – For residents of Kern Street, a block-long road on the city’s east side, the path to a smooth commute starts right outside their front doors—and it’s a bumpy one. Homeowners are voicing long-held frustrations over the street’s poor condition, a patchwork of fixes stemming from decades of sewer line repairs, and are seeking answers after their road was removed from a city paving list.

The root of the problem, according to longtime resident Dave Cozad, lies beneath the surface. The neighborhood, located just west of Wooten Road, was built with infrastructure that hasn’t stood the test of time.

“When these houses were put in, they used clay tile, sewer lines, and, over the years, with the heaving and buckling of the soil, the clay tiles became misaligned and caused clogged sewers,” Cozad explained.

This fundamental issue has had a cascading effect on the roughly 30 homes on the block. “Most of the houses on the street, on both sides, have had to have their sewer lines replaced from the house to the tap,” Cozad said. “And that’s why we see all these patches in the pavement here.”

Cozad’s attempts to find a solution have led him on a decade-long journey through city departments. “I talked to (the city) streets (division), probably… close to ten years ago,” he recalled. “They came out and looked at it and said ‘This is really not a streets problem. It appears to be more of a utilities problem.’ So, I then contacted (Colorado Springs) Utilities, and they came out and looked at it, and said ‘This is old, and it really isn’t a utilities problem.'”

This bureaucratic back-and-forth has left residents in limbo. While hope was briefly sparked when Kern Street was included on the 2022 paving list, the work never materialized. Adding to the disappointment, the street is not on the city’s paving list for 2026 or 2027.

“There have been crews come out and do measuring and markings and stuff, but nothing’s ever happened with it,” Cozad said. “So, I really don’t know where we are on the list with it.”

City officials acknowledge the complexity of prioritizing road maintenance. Richard Mulledy, the city’s public works director, provided a statement explaining the data-driven process behind the “2C” paving program, which is funded by a voter-approved sales tax.

“Currently, Kern Street is not on our immediate future 2C paving list,” Mulledy stated. “Thanks to our voters, the next version of 2C will touch approximately 40% of City roads identified through our data gathering as needing 2C treatment. While that is a staggering amount of work, it still leaves some roads off the list.”

Mulledy elaborated that the program uses “data-informed decisions to prioritize our projects, making the most efficient use of taxpayer money to keep our roads smooth and safe.” He added that resident input and visual inspections are also part of the evaluation.

“This, like many other roads, is constantly analyzed for possible future maintenance options if it’s financially feasible,” Mulledy concluded.

Corey Farkas, who oversees operations and maintenance for the city, encouraged residents to continue making their voices heard. “We do have the potential to, possibly, add streets or move streets again, depending on coordination,” Farkas said. “But we do ask people to let us know. Call us. Let us know. We’ve got other alternatives.”

For now, the residents of Kern Street remain in a familiar position: waiting, watching, and navigating the patchwork road they call home.