Congress could help open Incline to public
The Incline Friends group organized clean-ups of the Manitou Incline in 2011. Dena Rosenberry, The Gazette
BY TOM ROEDER
THE GAZETTE
Colorado Springs U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn has introduced a bill in Congress that would move the Manitou Incline one step closer to becoming a public trail.
The bill would allow for the transfer of the existing railway right of way on the trail up Mountain Manitou to the U.S. Forest Service, clearing a legal hurdle for the popular but illegal hiking route. The former railroad line ascends 2,000 feet in a mile from near Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs, some of it through private property.
“Congressman Lamborn got involved at the request of the Manitou and Pike’s Peak Railway when it became evident last year that an Act of Congress was necessary to help overcome one of the roadblocks to giving the public legal access to the incline as a hiking trail,” Lamborn’s office said in a Friday statement.
The Incline draws as many as 500,000 hikers each year.
An intergovernmental agreement has been proposed between Manitou and Colorado Springs for managing the Incline. The cities have scheduled votes on the agreement for later this month.
Efforts to legalize the Incline have been gaining momentum for years, but dealing with the right of way for the long-unused tourist railroad was a stumbling block.
The federal government must declare a railroad abandoned before the land can be used for anything else. The bill would ease that step by transferring the railroad right of way to the feds.
“This bill does not resolve all the issues necessary for legal access to the Incline, but does solve the critical federal roadblock,” Lamborn said in a statement.
The three-paragraph bill is narrowly tailored to the Incline route. It addresses requirements of an 1875 railroad law that requires Congress to approve the transfer.
Lamborn, a Republican, said he expects the bill to sail through Congress and said it could become law by spring.
For more on the Incline effort, visit www.gazette.com/incline.
Weather
Current Contests
