When it comes to e-bikes, Denver residents and community leaders are ahead of the pack. Their rebate program is a huge success.
This year, the city paid out up to $1,700 to over $4,000 to new electric bike owners. Now they are factoring e-bikes into their future trail and on-street bike infrastructure plans. Instead of the typical 3-foot bike lanes, Denver recommends 5-foot widths. Wider bike lanes allow bikes to pass through each, increasing your distance from traffic.
Colorado Springs still doesn’t know if e-bikes are legal on its most popular urban trails. Almost never.
Encouraging people to leave their cars at home and use e-bikes to get work and errands done is a simple matter. The use of e-bikes affects air quality and traffic congestion. Also, class 1 and class 2 e-bikes are good for your health, as they require pedaling.
Additionally, more federal funding is now available for multimodal projects. Road projects that can be ridden by any type of bicycle or electric scooter will score higher.
To really take advantage of the growing popularity of e-bikes, e-bike users must be able to ride safely. Otherwise the bike may end up in the garage. Downtown bike lanes don’t attract as many new e-bike riders as trails.
We are lucky to have a very nice trail system that will improve over the next few years. Legacy loops will make great strides in the years to come.
At the same time, as the population continues to grow with the explosive popularity of e-bikes, trails can also become crowded.
When it comes to trails, Colorado Springs has “great bones.” Improved signage with safety tips for new riders helps, as does the expansion of bike lanes.
We also look forward to four new “trail rangers” in the proposed 2023 city budget. With 120 miles of urban trails, I could use a few more, but it’s a good start.
Davies is Executive Director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition.
Davies is Executive Director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition.
