Colorado Springs has been debating for months about whether to begin allowing battery and electric-powered bikes onto trails that are reserved for non-motorized vehicles through the city Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) program.
Split on allowing e-bikes in city parks continues to Colorado Springs City Council
Council members questioned how the e-bike changes overlapped with the TOPS program and the complexity of defining the vehicles, but largely supported city staff's proposal to allow them into parks next year.
During the public comment period of Tuesday's City Council meeting, prominent former council members Richard Skorman and Wayne Williams said that any change to the voter-enacted TOPS program is required to be made by a ballot measure.
City staff previously said that a ballot question would be required to expand e-bike access. Last fall, a new proposal from the mayor's office instead proposed changing the city code to define certain classes of e-bikes as a non-motorized vehicle, which would then be allowed on TOPS properties.
"Those changes in technology don’t allow us to bypass the provisions on TABOR and bypass the provisions of the TOPS issue," Williams 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.
Williams said he and other TOPS supporters have already spoken to city staff to draft potential language for a ballot measure. Skorman said he understood the bike's popularity on some trails but felt they should stay out of protected open spaces.
The City Council heard a presentation on the e-bike classification ordinance in early December. A date has not been announced for a final vote on the ordinance.
Any potential ballot measure would need to be approved by the end of January in order to appear on the April 1 ballot.
© 2025 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
