Springs parks board approves Incline plan, more tests to come next week
By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD
THE GAZETTE
An agreement for legally opening the Manitou Incline to hikers took a step forward Thursday when the Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation Advisory Board unanimously approved the document.
But bigger hurdles await next week, when the city councils of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs will take up the issue.
Many in Manitou harbor concerns about the impact that opening the trail will have on parking along Ruxton Avenue, which leads to the trailhead. A Tuesday night work session there will determine if officials can meet the goal of Colorado Springs parks officials of having an inter-governmental agreement, or IGA, between the cities signed by the end of February.
“I feel like we’ve struck the best deal we can, but it will be up to the council to decide if they’re happy with this,” said Manitou Springs Mayor Marc Snyder on Thursday.
The former railway line runs 2,000 feet in a mile above Ruxton Avenue and the west side of Manitou Springs. Though it is trespassing, up to 500,000 people walk or run up it each year. The land the trail crosses is owned by Colorado Springs Utilities, the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and the U.S. Forest Service.
See a history of the Incline dating to 1906 and photos of the old railway.
Manitou Springs officials and the landowners have been working for years to legally open the trail, so parking can be better controlled and an estimated $1 million in repairs to the trail can be carried out.
The IGA introduced Thursday spells out who is responsible for specific aspects of the project in the future. Colorado Springs is in charge of maintenance and repairs to the eroded trail and the creation of a new trailhead, though much of the work will be done by volunteers and the money will be raised through donations. Manitou Springs will oversee parking.
The recently formed Incline Friends group is organizing a work day May 12, when volunteers will remove debris, stabilize railway ties and remove hazardous rebar that has been used to hold the ties in place.
Some, including Colorado Springs City Council president Scott Hente, have said the Incline could be open in June. But Colorado Springs parks officials opposed a suggestion by a parks board member that the IGA include a time line.
“My hesitancy is there’s always kinks out there. And once you put dates out there, whether it’s tentative or not, people assume that’s what’s going to happen. It looks worse if you miss that date,” said Sarah Bryarly, interim manager of the Colorado Springs Trails, Open Space and Parks program.
One such kink could occur in Manitou on Tuesday. Last month, the city’s Parking Authority Board voted to ask City Council to have a parking plan in place before they sign the IGA.
Snyder said the city signed a contract this week with a consultant to do a parking study, but that won’t be completed until at least May. Incline users often fill up parking spots along Ruxton Avenue. Snyder expects the consultant will come up with a plan that includes time-limited parking, permit-only spots for residents and even fee kiosks like the one installed in the Barr Trail parking lot.
Hente, a one-time Incline user and longtime advocate for opening the trail, met with Snyder this week and offered to have Colorado Springs parking officials help that city come up with a plan.
He’ll support whatever Manitou comes up with, short of charging to hike the Incline, which would be an insurance liability nightmare, he said.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s an open book with regard to how they address their parking issues and we’re ready to help them in that regard,” he said.
“I’m still hopeful both Colorado Springs and Manitou will vote on the IGA this month,” he said. The Colorado Springs City Council could vote at its Feb. 28 meeting.
Snyder also favors moving forward with a vote on the agreement Feb. 28, though he is skeptical the June timetable is realistic.
“If the option is the status quo or trying to work through this IGA process, I favor working through the IGA process. The status quo isn’t really working for anybody,” he said.
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PUBLIC MEETINGS ABOUT THE INCLINE
Colorado Springs City Council will discuss the Manitou Incline inter-governmental agreement at its informal meeting Monday. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. at City Hall, 107 N. Nevada Ave.
Manitou Springs City Council will discuss it in a special work session at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 606 Manitou Ave.
* Read more about the Incline and see additional photos at our Incline page.
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