Legalize it: Incline could open to public!

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Created on Monday, 18 August 2008 23:57
Written by Dave Philipps
The Manitou Incline could open to hikers within months if a hush-hush deal between the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and the city of Colorado Springs goes through. The written agreement, now being reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office, would give the cog railway a long-term license agreement to use a small parking lot at the upper end of Ruxton Avenue. In exchange, the Colorado Springs would get a long-term license agreement for a trail easement along the Incline. No money would change hands. “This is pretty close to a done deal,” said Councilman Scott Hente, who spearheaded negotiations between the city and the cog, and has been a regular incliner since 2005. “I want to be standing there when that ‘No trespassing’ sign comes down. In fact, I want to be the one to take it down.” The agreement is not final, both sides are reviewing the legal details. Even when the documents are signed, Hente said, there will still be details to work out with the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the upper portion of the Incline, and the neighborhoods of Manitou Springs, which have borne the brunt of parking woes created by the trail’s popularity. But all sides seem willing. Frank Landis, spokesman for the Pike National Forest, said “If the other property owners wanted to open it, I’m sure we would support and honor that.” Cog railway managers, who for years resisted opening the abandoned railroad grade to the public, now think a coordinated, cooperative effort to manage the Incline is the best solution. For almost a decade the trail, which lies partially on private property owned by the cog railway, has been off limits. That hasn’t stopped the steep jumble of railroad ties, which climbs 2,000 feet in about a mile from becoming one of the most popular hikes in the region, attracting hundreds of people per day. “We have a lot of challenges to work out and I think this is the best way to do it,” said cog manager Spencer Wren.. If hiking the Incline is legalized, he said, the cog, local governments and hikers could work together on finding parking solutions and stabilizing the fast-eroding grade, which can fill the cog’s parking lots with debris. “We don’t have anything to sign yet but we’re ready. The ball is in the city’s court,” said Wren. The City Attorney’s Office does not comment on pending deals. The reaction from the public is likely to be joyous. The Incline has become one of the most popular hikes in the region, easily outpacing the neighboring Barr Trail, which, according to the U.S. Forest Service, gets about 60,000 visitors a year. The incline is one of the things that makes Colorado Springs Colorado Springs. Recently it has been written up in Sports Illustrated and the New York times as the ultimate proving ground for Olympic athletes, but it is just as popular with high school soccer teams, stay-at-home moms and Baby Boomers looking to lose a few pounds. “It’s the one workout where people truly have to face something that is unbeatable,” speedskater Apolo Ohno told the New York times this month. “It is you against yourself.” “Wow, sweet!” Matt Carpenter said Monday when he heard the news. Carpenter helped popularize working out on the incline in the 1990s, but stopped in 2000 when it was closed. “Kudos to the cog and everyone else for something out. I think they’ll see what a valuable asset it can be. Contact the writer: 636-0223 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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