Under the proposed rules, the city would have three classes of e-bikes that would have different levels of trail access. There have been three separate recommendations on where to allow the bikes by the city staff, the parks committee and the Trails, Open Spaces and Parks (TOPS) committee.
Most council members at Monday's work session seemed inclined to go with the staff recommendation to expand the electric bikes. Many questions about how the changes overlapped with the Trails, Open Spaces and Parks program and the complexity of defining the new vehicles.
The current recommendation would allow Class 1 e-bikes throughout the parks system and Class 2 e-bikes onto the larger urban and regional trails. The fastest Class 3 e-bikes would be categorized as a "motorized use" and banned from trails in the same way as motorcycles and ATVs.
COLORADO SPRINGS E-BIKE POLICY GAINS NARROW VOTE OF APPROVAL
Colorado Springs' Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board on Thursday narrowly approved a policy to expand electric bike access on city trails.
The official decision by the City Council will come at the first meeting in February. The new rules would be rolled out onto trails through July 1.
"We're just not keeping with the pace with the way that the norms of our state are going. These bikes are allowed in all national parks, they are allowed on most BLM trails," council member David Leinweber said.
The Trails, Open Space and Parks ordinance was passed by city voters in 1997. The voter language included a ban on motorized vehicles in park space, which meant the city had previously expected that a public vote would be needed to allow e-bikes.
City staff shifted in October to create an ordinance that would define and allow the e-bikes throughout the entire parks system. The new definitions for e-bikes and motorized vehicle use would cover the TOPS park areas but not directly change the existing ordinance.
Council member Nancy Henjum said she agreed with the goal of expanding e-bikes onto trails in the city. Henjum advocated for the ballot measure approach to figure out how the TOPS portion of the new policy would work.
"We are making a definition for something that does not have one, for something that the citizens brought to our city. To ignore the citizens at this point, at the very least, is just wrong," Henjum said.
As e-bike talks intensify in Colorado Springs, here's a look at what other places are doing around the state.
In 2015, Mary Ann Bonnell and her Jeffco Open Space team thought to bring an unusual presentation to an annual conference of local land managers around Colorado. Bonnell would speak on electric bikes, or e-bikes as they were becoming known.
Leinweber said the cost of preparing an ordinance for April’s city election and educating voters about what it does could be significant. Leinweber pointed out that many other Colorado cities had already established e-bike rules without a public vote.
Parks Director Britt Haley said the changes would likely take longer to come to the TOPS trails that have conservation easements in place. The city would need to negotiate with groups like Palmer Land Conservancy to figure out whether the current easements would override the new city rules and continue to ban e-bikes.
City staff also proposed a rollout of safety measures on trails to go along with the e-bikes. TOPS program manager Scott Abbott suggested setting speed limits and slow areas on trails to keep riders from barreling past people and enforcing the strict rules against strong motors. Abbott said the city would spend next year educating the public about new trail etiquette at trail heads and bike shops.
"We certainly know that these bikes are being sold in the community at a pretty good clip. We would like to offer some education right there at the point of sale," Abbott said.
The TOPS committee voted in November to cut the definitions for "non-motorized use" from the new ordinance, which would indirectly limit the overlap with the current TOPS ordinance. The vote led to several questions by Council President Randy Helms about the committee's intent.
The parks committee narrowly voted in November to recommend expanding e-bike access further by allowing the Class 3 bikes onto the urban and regional trails.
At a Colorado Springs Parks Board meeting Thursday, opposition mounted against a proposal that would legalize electric-powered bikes on city-owned trails where other bikes are allowed.
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