Boulder Open Space Trustees reject staff plan for e-bikes on trails

The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department (OSMP) proposal to allow Class 1 and 2 e-bikes on city trails on the plains was rejected by the board that advises the department.

The City of Boulder Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT) has an advisory role over the OSMP policy and sends recommendations to the Boulder City Council for final approval. Members are Jon Carroll, Michelle Estrella, Karen Hollweg, Dave Kuntz, and Caroline Miller.

The 3-2 vote against adopting the staff recommendation took place at the OSBT meeting on Feb. 8, which was held virtually and lasted over five hours. Carroll and Estrella supported the motion to approve the staff recommendation, but Hollweg, Kuntz and Miller voted against it.

Estrella said she supported it because many people in the community told them that they wanted this option. Kuntz explained that he did not support it because he views e-bikes as motorized vehicles, in spite of Colorado state statutes which define class 1 and class 2 e-bikes as non-motorized.

The Boulder County Commissioners approved the use of e-bikes in 2019 on Boulder County regional trails and on county trails on the plains, with a few exceptions. E-bikes are prohibited on Boulder County trails in the foothills and mountains. The dividing line between the foothills and plains is US Highway 36, 28th Street in Boulder, and State Highway 93.

The City of Boulder directed the OSMP to begin a similar evaluation process in the spring of 2022. OSMP developed the details of three options specifying where e-bikes would be allowed. They conducted online and in-person trail intercept surveys. The OSMP department presented the plan options and the data gathered to the OSBT in Nov. 2022. A public hearing on the plan was held virtually before the OSBT at their Dec. 2022 meeting.

At the Feb. 2023 OSBT meeting the OSMP presented its final staff recommendation, for option “B,” which would allow e-bikes on all plains trails. After 45 minutes of discussion a motion was made to accept the staff recommendation. That motion was voted down.

Having been given a deadline to send the OSBT recommendation to the Boulder City Council, the trustees then embarked on crafting regulations on the spot with the board secretary composing the text of regulations live on their computer screen.

This discussion appeared to be heading toward a version of option “C,” which limits e-bikes to interconnected multi-use paths, but it was not originally recommended. After three hours of discussion and motions to reach a compromise, the OSBT decided to send their unfinished draft regulations on to the city council. That draft would allow e-bikes to cross Boulder open space land when a multi-jurisdictional trail requires it for continuity.

That recommendation also might allow e-bikes on the entire length of the LoBo Trail, which runs from Longmont to Boulder, and through Niwot. Currently, e-bikes are prohibited once the trail crosses under Highway 52 heading toward Boulder since that land is open space owned by the City of Boulder.

The Boulder City Council may take up this issue in April.