Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD
THE GAZETTE

With two key public meetings on the long-delayed legal opening of the Manitou Incline set for next week, the Incline Friends group is urging trail users and would-be trail users to contact local elected officials and voice their support.

Colorado Springs City Council will discuss an inter-governmental agreement with Manitou Springs at its informal meeting Monday at 1 p.m. The Manitou Springs City Council will take it up Tuesday night. Both councils will vote on the IGA later this month.

The former railroad line is used by up to 500,000 people a year,  who come for the grueling 2,000 feet of elevation gain in one mile, though it bisects private property and its use is trespassing. The deal to open the trail would set out how the trail will be managed by the two cities.

Some in Manitou, though, say it doesn't go far enough. That city's Parking Authority Board recently voted to send a letter to City Council asking for a delay in voting on the IGA until parking issues are resolved. On-street parking often fills up for blocks, creating congestion on narrow Ruxton Avenue.

"The concern of the Parking Authority Board was that we’d heard rumblings that people had already picked a date to 'have an opening,' even though nothing had been signed yet, and we’re concerned no management plan would be implemented for residents in town prior to the opening of the Incline," said Authority vice-chairman Jay Rohrer, who owns a bed-and-breakfast on Ruxton Avenue.

The action is non-binding, since the Parking Authority is an advisory board to the council.

The Incline Friends group formed last year to oversee maintenance on the trail. Its leaders are urging users and those who support the legal opening of the trail to contact council members before next week's meetings and ask them to vote "yes."  Click here for more, including e-mail and phone information for council members.

The Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, which advises Colorado Springs City Council, will hear a presentation on the IGA at its meeting Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Watch for a report at outtherecolorado.com.