An Open Letter to PLAN-Boulder County, Boulder County Audubon Society and Boulder County Nature Association

We recently saw your action alert asking people to oppose any mountain bike access between Shanahan Ridge and Doudy Draw. We respect your organizations and share your commitment to protecting Boulder’s open space. But the alert significantly mischaracterizes what Boulder Mountainbike Alliance is asking the City to consider.

So we’d like to clear a few things up.

We are asking for one connection, not a new network of bike trails

BMA is not asking the City to open South Boulder’s pedestrian trail network to bikes. We are not asking for a bunch of new trails through the grasslands. We are asking for one safe, natural-surface bike connection between Shanahan Ridge and Doudy Draw.

And there is an opportunity to create that connection while addressing environmental and visitor experience issues the City identified more than a decade ago. The adopted West TSA plan already calls for rerouting trails in this area, including Lower Big Bluestem and South Boulder Creek West. Those reroutes were identified for reasons completely unrelated to mountain biking.

In particular, the West TSA calls for South Boulder Creek West to be moved away from the riparian area and rare plant communities, with stated benefits that include protecting habitat and wildlife, increasing habitat block size and improving trail sustainability. BMA believes the City can accomplish those conservation goals while also improving the trail experience.
Our proposal is simple: reroute both the Lower Big Bluestem and South Boulder Creek West as already contemplated by the West TSA, allow bikes on one, and keep the other bike-free.
Done thoughtfully, this could move trails away from environmentally sensitive areas, create a better experience for pedestrians who prefer a trail without bikes, and finally provide one safe bike connection through South Boulder.

That is very different from the picture painted in your action alert.

We agree that these grasslands are worth protecting

Your alert describes the ecological importance of South Boulder’s grasslands, wetlands, wildlife and rare plant communities. We agree.

The question isn't whether these resources should be protected. They should be. The question is whether environmental protection and one thoughtfully designed bike connection are mutually exclusive.

We don't believe they are.

Modern trail planning gives land managers tools to locate trails away from sensitive resources, reduce erosion, manage speeds, improve sightlines, concentrate recreation on durable alignments and separate uses where appropriate.

In this case, OSMP already has trails on the ground and already identified environmental reasons to change some of their alignments. Let's use that opportunity to make things better.

This isn't about choosing bikes over pedestrians

Your alert repeatedly refers to protecting “pedestrian-only trails” and suggests that allowing a bike connection would take something away from hikers, runners and dog walkers.

That's not what we're proposing.

We believe one of the two redesigned east-west trails could remain bike-free. People who want a pedestrian-focused experience would still have that option. The other could be designed specifically to safely accommodate bikes and pedestrians.

Concerns about speed, sightlines and interactions between bikes and pedestrians are legitimate. But they are trail-design and management challenges, not reasons to rule out a connection before one has even been designed.

The West TSA does not have to be reopened to consider one connection

Your alert argues that the West TSA was the product of two years of negotiation and “cannot be easily changed without unraveling the interwoven agreements.”

We absolutely recognize the enormous amount of community work that went into the West TSA. But considering one specific connection does not mean throwing out the West TSA or reopening every decision made in 2011.

Plans for public lands need to be able to respond when conditions, community needs and opportunities change. The question before the City today is much narrower: can one safe bike connection be created while protecting the conservation and visitor experience goals of the West TSA?

We believe it can. And OSMP director Dan Burke confirmed that this trail access can be addressed without re-opening the entire plan.

We also need to be honest about the bike-access compromises from 2011

The West TSA process is often described as a carefully negotiated package of trade-offs. But the supposed bike-access concessions deserve some context.

Chapman Drive eventually opened to bikes, but Chapman is a road miles north of South Boulder. It does nothing to solve the missing connection between Shanahan Ridge and Doudy Draw. Betasso Preserve is owned and managed by Boulder County, not the City of Boulder.

And the Eldorado Canyon-to-Walker Ranch connection depended on multiple agencies, land ownership and decisions outside the City’s control. It was studied for years but never built. Fifteen years after the West TSA was adopted, South Boulder residents still do not have a natural-surface bike connection to Doudy Draw and Marshall Mesa.

We think it is reasonable to revisit that missing connection.

This is also a transportation safety issue

Your alert encourages people to support getting visitors to Open Space trailheads “by bike, bus or on foot” while simultaneously opposing any bike connection between Shanahan Ridge and Doudy Draw.

For people traveling by bike, those two goals conflict.

Today, riding from South Boulder to Marshall Mesa still requires navigating high-stress roads and crossing Highway 128. The Highway 128 and Highway 93 intersection can be particularly difficult during the afternoon commute. Cars waiting to turn south onto Highway 93 frequently back up through the crosswalk, making it difficult for eastbound drivers to see someone entering the crossing.

An experienced adult rider may be willing to navigate that. We don't think it should be the required route for a kid riding from South Boulder to Marshall Mesa.

A natural-surface connection could eliminate roughly 1.5 miles of riding alongside motor vehicles and reduce the trip to a single road crossing. If Boulder wants people to drive less and bike more, our transportation and open space systems need to connect.

We don't have to choose between conservation and access

We respect that your organizations may ultimately disagree with us about bike access.
But that debate should be based on what is actually being proposed.

BMA is asking OSMP to seriously evaluate one thoughtfully designed connection between Shanahan Ridge and Doudy Draw.

We believe the already-planned trail reroutes provide an opportunity to move trails away from sensitive areas, improve habitat protection, improve the pedestrian experience, preserve a bike-free trail and create one safe connection for people traveling by bike.
That's not opening South Boulder Open Space to mountain bikes. That's thoughtful planning.

We have more in common than not

At the end of the day, we believe our organizations have far more in common than we have differences.

We all care about healthy wildlife habitat, resilient ecosystems and protecting all public lands for the long term. And there are much bigger threats facing those lands than whether one thoughtfully designed trail allows bikes, including climate change, severe wildfires, habitat loss, invasive species and proposals to sell or transfer federal public lands.

We may not agree on every trail decision. That’s okay.

But conservation and recreation do not have to be opposing values. We would much rather work together on the big challenges facing public lands than fight over one trail connection in South Boulder.

There should be room for both conservation and thoughtful access.

Hear that? It is the sound of new trail construction.

The US Forest Service has been moving dirt in West Magnolia as part of the larger Magnolia Trails Project. Work is happening in phases, including improvements to existing trails, construction of new system trail, and planning for a better climbing connection through the network.

Here is what has changed so far.

Hobbit 3.5 and Lost Meadow improvements

The first phase focused on improving drainage and making a few refinements to Hobbit 3.5 and Lost Meadow (highlighted in yellow on map below).

The biggest change is on Hobbit 3.5. Where the trail drops into the gully, it previously climbed almost straight up the opposite side. The improved alignment now contours around the hillside at a gentler grade.

This should make the trail easier to maintain, improve drainage, and create a more manageable climb.

Lost Meadow remains largely on its existing alignment. Crews focused on drainage improvements and adjusted the creek crossing to help keep water moving off the trail instead of down it.

A new connection between Rocks & Roots and Hobbit

Construction is also underway on a new system trail connecting the bottom of Rocks & Roots to the Engine Slab rock on Hobbit (highlighted in magenta on map below).

The new trail will create a formal connection through an area that currently hosts social trails. Once complete, it should make the network easier to follow while providing a more durable route through the hillside.

The trail is still under construction and is not yet open for riding.

What comes next?

The next step is to identify the best alignment for a climbing-optimized trail connecting Hobbit toward the Kinglet Trail.

That work could begin later this year, depending on design review, crew availability, funding, and other Forest Service requirements. It may also become a future phase of the project.

We will share more information as the alignment and construction schedule become clearer.

Help us build it

BMA and the Nederland Area Trails Organization will begin hosting volunteer trail days on this project in September.

Volunteer work may include trail finishing, drainage, tread shaping, restoration, and other tasks needed to turn freshly constructed trail into something ready for years of riding.

Watch the BMA calendar for dates and registration links.

Bring your work gloves. We will provide the dirt.

On Tuesday, July 14, the Big Tent BoCo steering committee delivered its signed petitions to the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder.

The group collected enough signatures to qualify its proposal for the November 3 ballot, pending the clerk’s verification. That means Boulder County voters will get to decide whether to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three members to five.

That is a big deal. Collecting more than 18,000 signatures across Boulder County takes an enormous amount of work, organization and persistence. BMA was proud to help spread the word and provide opportunities for people to sign the petition.

“Nearing the end of our signature collection period, at a time when we really needed extra hands to make it to the finish line, the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance stepped up!  The BMA Board thoughtfully considered our proposal, agreed with us that shifting from three to five Boulder County commissioners, the majority elected by their own districts, would meaningfully improve representation and decision making, and jumped in by including Big Tent in bike-to-work events and by carrying petitions. With BMA’s help, we’ve successfully turned in over 18,000 signatures!  Thank you, BMA!” - The Big Tent Organizing Committee

Why BMA Supported Big Tent

BMA’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse the Big Tent proposal because county government has a huge impact on trails, open space and outdoor recreation. Boulder County commissioners oversee Parks & Open Space, approve budgets, adopt management plans and make decisions that shape where trails can be built, who can use them and how our public lands are managed. These decisions affect mountain bikers, hikers, equestrians, trail runners, wildlife advocates and communities throughout the county.

Right now, three commissioners are responsible for representing more than 330,000 residents and overseeing a county budget of roughly $750 million. All three are elected countywide. That is a lot of people, a lot of geography and a lot of work for three humans.

Expanding the commission to five members would create more capacity for commissioners to meet with residents, learn about complex issues and engage with communities from the mountains to the plains. It would also distribute decision-making across more elected representatives and bring additional perspectives to the table.

The ballot proposal will ask voters two questions. First, should the commission expand from three members to five? Second, if voters approve the expansion, should all five commissioners be elected by district, or should three be elected by district and two countywide? And if elected by district, how do we remap the current three districts to five?

What We Hope Will Improve

BMA does not expect five commissioners to agree with us on every trail decision. That is not the point. We hope a larger commission will create a county government that is more accessible, responsive and representative. We hope commissioners will have more time to meet with community organizations, dig into complicated management questions and understand how county policies affect people in different parts of Boulder County.

We also hope it will lead to more open discussion and better public processes. Trail planning is complicated. It requires balancing recreation, conservation, transportation, safety, accessibility and community needs. Those conversations benefit from having more voices involved, both in the community and on the commission itself.

Boulder County has changed dramatically since its three-commissioner structure was established. Our population has grown, county government has expanded and the issues facing our communities have become more complex. Big Tent’s proposal gives voters the opportunity to decide whether our system of representation should grow along with the county.

Getting the measure to the ballot required thousands of people to stop, listen and sign their names. We are grateful to everyone who carried a clipboard, hosted a petition, shared information or signed. If you would like to support the next effort, you can donate directly to Big Tent BoCo.

Next stop: November.