Rex Madden - Nederland's mountain biking community showed up in force at the April town hall to push back on Boulder County's proposed alternating-use pilot program.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
At this time, we ask you to confirm your subscription at www.themtnear.com, to continue accessing the only weekly paper in the Peak to Peak region to cover ALL the news you need! Simply click Confirm my subscription now!.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Questions? Call us at 303-810-5409 or email info@themountainear.com.
Please log in to continue |
Dear Editor,
Nederland's mountain biking community showed up in force at the April town hall to push back on Boulder County's proposed alternating-use pilot program.
The disappointment in that room was real, and the data behind it is damning.
At Heil Valley Ranch, the pilot's primary target, mountain biking accounts for 59% of observed user activity and hiking 35%.[1] The conflict rate motivating the pilot is 4% system-wide.[1] Ninety-six percent of observed interactions between trail users involved no reported conflict. That is the entire evidence base for a program that would restrict the majority user group on designated days, while offering zero new infrastructure in return.
I don't want to minimize the frustration of hikers who have had difficult encounters on shared trails. That's real, and it deserves a real solution. But restriction isn't a solution. It's a workaround for a design problem. Conflict on shared trails happens not because mountain bikers and hikers are incompatible, but because a trail designed to serve both simultaneously can't be optimized for either. The fix is purpose-built trails for each group. That approach is working in land management systems across the country. BCPOS has essentially zero miles of purpose-built bike-specific trail on its 100,000+ acres.
What this community needs is a different philosophy entirely. Build user-specific trails that serve riders and hikers without forcing them to compete for the same inadequate infrastructure. Develop a long-range master trails plan that tells Nederland and the surrounding mountain communities where BCPOS is actually headed. The county has acquired enormous amounts of land in and around this community. That land belongs to all of us, and it should be managed as a genuine public resource.
References: [1] "Alternating Trail Use Pilot Program." Boulder County Parks & Open Space, 2026. bouldercounty.gov/open-space/management/alternating-trail-use/
Rex Madden is the founder of Greater Nederland Area Riders (GNAR), a mountain bike advocacy nonprofit based in Nederland, Colorado.
Rex Madden
Rollinsville
