Understanding PPACG: The Regional Organization Working Behind the Scenes Across the Pikes Peak Region

Across El Paso County, communities are growing, roads are getting busier and the needs of residents are changing. From transportation and aging services to environmental planning and the relationship between surrounding communities and local military installations, many of the issues facing the Pikes Peak region do not stop at city or county lines.

That is where the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG) comes in.

PPACG is a regional organization made up of 16 local governments across El Paso, Park and Teller counties. Its purpose is to help those communities work together on issues that affect the region as a whole.

Rather than replacing local governments or making decisions for individual communities, PPACG serves as a place for local governments and regional partners to coordinate, share information and plan for the future.

The organization was established in 1967 and today focuses on several major areas, including transportation planning, aging services, environmental programs and military and community land-use planning.

One of its most significant responsibilities is transportation.

PPACG serves as the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Colorado Springs urbanized area. In that role, it works with local governments, the Colorado Department of Transportation, federal transportation agencies and Mountain Metropolitan Transit to coordinate transportation planning and the use of federal and state transportation funds.

That work can influence which transportation projects receive funding throughout the region, including projects involving roads, transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and other transportation improvements.

PPACG's transportation planning also looks beyond individual projects. The organization develops long-range plans designed to anticipate how population growth, development and changing transportation needs will affect the region in the coming decades.

For a rapidly growing area such as El Paso County, that regional perspective is particularly important.

But transportation is only one piece of PPACG's work.

Through the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging, the organization also helps connect older adults and caregivers with services and resources throughout the region. The agency provides information about programs involving senior services, caregiving, mobility, insurance and other resources, with the goal of helping older adults remain independent in their homes.

That need is expected to grow. PPACG reports that the region's population age 60 and older is expected to increase by 42% between 2020 and 2030.

PPACG also coordinates regional efforts involving environmental issues, including air and water quality. These issues often require cooperation between multiple jurisdictions because environmental conditions and their impacts do not follow municipal boundaries.

Another important part of PPACG's work is military and community land-use planning.

The Pikes Peak region is home to several major military installations, including Fort Carson, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base and Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station. PPACG helps facilitate communication and planning between military installations and surrounding communities so that future development can be considered alongside military missions and regional needs.

The organization also provides opportunities for members of the public to participate in the regional planning process. PPACG's board and advisory groups hold public meetings, accept public comments and involve community members in discussions about transportation, aging services and other regional issues. A July 2026 board meeting, for example, included public comments as well as discussions about transportation planning, the regional freight plan, military installations and the Area Agency on Aging's four-year plan.

For many residents, PPACG may not be an organization they encounter on a daily basis. Its work, however, can be connected to many of the issues that affect life across the Pikes Peak region.

A new transportation project, services available to an aging family member, regional air-quality efforts or planning around a growing community and nearby military installation can all involve coordination that extends beyond the boundaries of a single municipality.

That is ultimately the role PPACG fills: bringing communities together to address regional challenges that are too interconnected for one local government to tackle alone.

As El Paso County and the broader Pikes Peak region continue to grow, that regional cooperation will remain an important part of planning for the roads, services, communities and quality of life residents will experience in the years ahead.

Photo courtesy of PPACG.