Editor’s note: This update is a part of BLDRfly’s continuing coverage of the proposal to build a mountain bike trail that connects Walker Ranch Open Space to Eldorado Canyon State Park. Check out previous coverage here.
As mud season flirts with the minds of Boulder-area mountain bikers, the Eldo-to-Walker mountain bike trail proposal runs into opposition.
The propose trail would provide a bike-able connection between Walker Ranch Open Space, a favorite Boulder backyard mountain biking destination east of Gross Reservoir, and Eldorado Canyon State Park. A hikeable, but not bike-able, trail currently connects the two spaces.
Of the over 100 people who attended the last public hearing in November, a majority were Eldora Springs residents opposed to the link because of the increased traffic they believe it will bring their community. This jeopardizes the link, which would provide Boulder mountain bikers with an epic local loop.
Boulder Mountainbike Alliance (BMA) is spearheading the charge to make a Eldo-to-Walker link happen.
This past November, three partner agencies (Open Space and Mountain Parks, Boulder County Parks and Open Space and Colorado Parks and Wildlife) completed a feasibility report and presented the findings to the public.
Eldorado Springs is a small community and the state park brings heavy weekend summer traffic, with climbers flocking to the world-class pitches and hot Front Rangers cooling off in the spring-fed pool that sits on South Boulder Creek’s banks.
Advocates for the trail argue that bikers are being singled out for issues that already exist in the area.
No roads enter the area from the west, which creates a natural bottleneck that frustrates both visitors and residents.
BMA board member Marcus Popetz sent a video message to BMA members that called for stronger pro-bike trail attendance at the next public hearing:
The next public hearing for proposed trail will be on Wednesday, February 13 at 6 p.m. at the Open Space Board of Trustees meeting. Proponents and opponents of the proposed trail have the opportunity to speak on behalf of their cause.
BLDRfly will continue to provide frontline updates on this story.
