Barr Trail in the snow, with Andy and the dog. 25 minutes up, 45 minutes total, 3.0 miles. Snowing like crazy in Manitou.
You just knew that once politicians got into it, this would happen. I know a good chunk of Manitou City Council and it's sad that they will now be seen as money grabbers, since as individuals they're all pretty cool people. If you're compared to Colorado Springs City Council and you look like the bad guy, you are definitely doing something wrong. But hey, I don't like all the folks who drive through Old Colorado City on their way to the Incline, so maybe I should get some money out of it. And then there's that pesky El Paso County Search & Rescue, who uses 31st street to get to Manitou. I can't tell you how many times I've been inconvenienced by that truck of theirs, with the bright and loud sirens, making me get up off the couch to look out my window and say, "ha, some idiot fell down the Incline again." Some kind of kickback to Pleasant Valley residents for all our suffering is in order. I still get a smile out of the Manitoids who complain about tourist traffic. Maybe they should have done some research before moving there?
I believe the Incline as we know it is going away. Between the politicians and the Friends club, within a few years the Incline will be about as exciting as the stair step machine at your local gym.
Just a little warning to Manitou City Council: city hall can burn!
Not to be outdone, Springs City Council had to piss someone off today. Personally, I'm fine with not having several thousand spandex clad road bikers in town.
In other news, roads are crazy bad today. Lots of accidents. I carpooled with $100, her Outback rocks the snow.
11 comments:
Wow. The comment thread on that article is pretty good.
Yeah, I need to make a Carpenter FB page and go start laying down the law over there!
Solution: pay meters on the entirety of Ruxton.
This will cut down on the number of out-of-towners who will be willing to do the Incline. Also, it will force those who DO choose to come to Manitou to park closer to Manitou Ave, which should help business. They'll need it if the number of tourists is curbed.
MANITOU SHUTTLE BUS!!! Leaves from Memorial Park on the hour every hour!!!
Meters on Ruxton would ruin the charm of that road. Look real ugly and out of place. I'm probably the only one who thinks that dump of a road has charm though. Wouldn't mind seeing parking permits though, only allowing residents on Ruxton to park there.
True Pleasant Valley residents don't care, since we run over from our house along the brand spankin' new hike-and-bike trail. Do that now while it's still free!
Amen to that. 12 miles RT!
Hey, I like Ruxton's charm, too, JT! Seriously, some sweet kooky little houses up there. I don't think that will be appreciably compromised with parking meters, however. I do agree that resident parking permits would be just as effective and probably the most sensible solution.
I think the intent for instituting the fee is very important. If it is to raise funds for maintenance and trail work, etc, then I'm for it. I'll buy my annual pass (assuming they issue those) with little angst.
If it is to limit the number of people who are parking on Ruxton, then a fee for hiking is a really indirect and backwards way of taking care of that issue. See the above far more sensible solutions.
If it is to limit people who are using the Incline, then I am COMPLETELY opposed to it. As much as I generally hate crowded trails (the main reason I get up early to run), I think the Incline is awesome because it is motivating more people to get outside and experience the mountains who might not otherwise. I can't support a hiking/mountain-appreciation tax.
They now charge five bones to park in the Barr Trail TH lot, and I haven't figured out where that money goes. I certainly haven't seen any improvement in the trail that the kind of money generated would warrant.
I guess City Council does have an interesting dilemma, though. On one hand, they've got homeowners (primarily on Ruxton I'd assume) who could care less about anything other than traffic on their street. I'm sure many of them would be fine if the Incline just disappeared forever. Business owners SHOULD support use of the incline, as it brings in $$$ for folks stopping for a beer or burger or hemp necklace or pentagram post-hike. You've got people who do the incline...who just want to keep using the incline, plain and simple.
SO.
What will reduce Ruxton traffic without simultaneously shutting down overall visits to Manitou? Something that encourages folks to park on Manitou Ave or in one of the public parking areas.
I agree with Tony, the thought of taxing people for making healthy lifestyle choices is kinda sick. Charging people to walk up an outdoor staircase is a bad idea on many levels. Again, what is the purpose?
The best parking spot for me to do the incline is my driveway! It gives me an awesome ten mile warmup before the actual incline... door to incline summit, 2.5 hours... 20+miles or longer round trip depending on my route back...
Anyway, I said it before and I will say it again, the incline is an unmanageable resource.
http://bdtu.blogspot.com/2011/04/andys-incline-plan.html
As a side note, COS has too much spandex already... we didn't need anymore.
I can't run Pikes in 2 hours, so they'd better have long-term meters on Ruxton ;)
Unfortunately the city owns relevant land. It's indicative of the cluster of public ownership combined with liability laws that hold property owners liable for the actions of people on the property, which is ridiculous. Without those two things, it would have been open a long time ago.
I have to roll my eyes at complaints of traffic. You're um, living next to a 14er??
So how will they determine whether you are using the trailhead for Barr Trail or the Incline? Or will you, by default, have to pay to use Barr as well? Funny how none of them are crying about the Cog - that creates a crapload of traffic too?
If you could be assured that they would use the money for the trail and ONLY for the trail, I might buy it. It's governement. Won't happen.
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