Trail access: we showed up Wednesday. Now take the survey by 5/19.
Boulder County's Alternating Trail Use Pilot would close Walker, Betasso, Heil, and Hall to mountain bikes on certain days. The open house is over. The County survey closes Monday. 10 minutes.
Wednesday night the team turned out at the Boulder County Courthouse to weigh in on the Alternating Trail Use Pilot, the proposal that would ban mountain bikes on certain days at Walker Ranch, Betasso, Heil Valley Ranch, and Hall Ranch. Walker is one of our regular practice venues. If this passes, our season looks different.
Big thanks to the families that came out and especially to the riders in team kit. Commissioner Levy needed to see who this affects, and a kid saying “this is where I practice” lands harder than any email we could send.
Rhys in the Boulder County Courthouse Wednesday night. Thanks to Ian Jacobson for the photo.
The open house is done. The survey is still live and closes Monday, May 19. That’s the part the commissioners actually count.
Three things you can still do
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Take the County survey by Monday 5/19. 10 minutes. It’s the number that ends up in front of the Commissioners. bouldercounty.gov/open-space/management/alternating-trail-use
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Email the Commissioners at commissioners@bouldercounty.gov. Short and respectful. Say you’re a Boulder High MTB family and you support trail solutions that improve access for everyone, directional trails, bike-optimized routes, smart routing around sensitive habitat, not blanket day-of-week bans.
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Talk to your riding friends. Other teams, other clubs, other parents on other trails. This isn’t just our problem.
Why this matters
In a 9News interview last week, Commissioner Claire Levy confirmed the County is piloting days that set aside trails for hikers and equestrians and limit mountain bike use. She also said purpose-built bike trails are not on the table.
Here’s the thing: Betasso has been on alternating use since 2004. Its conflict rate is 5%, higher than the 4% system-wide average this pilot is trying to fix. The model has been running for 20 years and produces worse outcomes than the system it’s meant to improve.
The Boulder Mountainbike Alliance has been pushing for real solutions. The County needs to hear that our community is behind those, not behind bans.
These trails are on our practice rotation for a reason. Let’s make sure they stay that way.