19 May 2020
E-bike trial period at Twin Buttes approved by 2 boards and City Council–begins June 29, 2020
A sanctioned one-year trial period for class 1 e-bikes on trails at Twin Buttes Open Space has been approved by two City of Durango boards, as well as by City Council. It’ll start on June 29, 2020.
A sanctioned trial for class 1 e-bikes will soon begin at Twin Buttes.
First, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board approved the test.
Shortly afterwards, most of the the Natural Lands Preservation Advisory Board changed their minds and then unanimously approved a trial at Twin Buttes. Originally, I was the only board member in favor of having a sanctioned trial for e-bikes on Durango’s natural surface trails.
Then, a third board among the joint boards that was supposed be part of the e-bike policy advisement process, decided to abstain from opining. Basically, the Multimodal Advisory Board abstained from collectively passing a motion in support of or against allowing e-bikes on Durango’s natural surface trails.
Instead, what the Multimodal Board collectively agreed to was to support the Natural Lands Board in whatever position they take on the issue.
It’s unclear why the Multimodal Board suddenly decided to abstain, given the history of its members recognizing that our trail systems have value to those commuting. Most notably is the previous support for designating the Lions Den Trail from Chapman Hill as a legal e-bike route.
Finally, the trial for e-bikes at Twin Buttes was approved at the City Council’s May 19th meeting. They decided that the trial would begin on June 1st.
You can read about past discrimination against e-bikes by clicking on this link to another high-quality article on Horse Gulch Blog.
Adam Howell is a writer who is on the city of Durango’s Natural Lands Preservation Advisory Board. His reporting and commentary does not reflect or represent the views of the Board or the municipal government. He can be reached by clicking on this link to the contact page.
