By Seth Boster | The Gazette
Colorado Springs’ Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Board on Thursday narrowly approved a policy to expand electric bike access on city trails.
This was after a separate committee overseeing the city’s parks and open spaces rejected the proposal ahead of final City Council consideration. The prior rejection by the TOPS Working Committee took issue with an update to city code that would define Class 1 and 2 e-bikes, powered by an electric motor, as “non-motorized use.”
Members of that committee struggled to square the suggested definition with the 1997 voter-approved TOPS ordinance, which cleared the way for sales tax portions to fund and acquire lands such as Red Rock Canyon, Stratton and Blodgett open spaces, as well as Ute Valley Park and trails around Pulpit Rock. The ordinance prohibits motorized use on those properties, advocates have argued.