There are huge amounts of progress being made in Colorado Springs towards becoming a Gold-Bicycle Friendly city in 2013. The Trails and Open Space Coalition (TOSC) deserves not only our respect, but also congratulations on great strides they’ve made so far this season.
BJ Ondo writes, “Besides, "maint." issuse, the worst problem with our "trails and paths" is that they "don't CONNECT". New trails are nice but I'd rather see the "brunt" of the work going into "connecting" of trails so they are even more useful!”
TOSC released information Friday that Rock Island Trail work should be finished and the trail reopened later this month. Improvements on Bear Creek trail near the Walmart are fully complete. Also this month, the bridge on Greenway Trail behind Costco is being re-decked, and next month the bridge on the Greenway near Criterium Bike Shop will be re-decked. Improvements to trails are dependant on when funds become available.
Fortunately, Colorado Spring’s most recent plan for funding was prepared last September. Funding for this year’s changes will come from grants, but the majority of money will come from the Bike Excise Tax, tax that is charged to consumers when purchasing a bike.
TOSC also announced that Colorado Springs City Council will meet Tuesday to consider adding the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) statement to the ballot. Adding MOE would allow more of Trails, Open Space and Parks Initiatives (TOPS) to be used for maintenance by using less for the parks category. Without MOE, TOPS is only a .1% sales tax. The initiative was proposed by Mayor Steve Bach’s appointed Parks Team.
With the plan underway and incidentally, in the spotlight, outdoor enthusiasts can take their example from Colorado Springs, and hopefully work to preserve open spaces in their towns. As a precaution to cyclists, the Trail Teams ask that you respect the “Closed” signs while the trails are being worked on.
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