First open house scheduled in Longmont Wednesday, Oct. 2.

Boulder County, Colo. - Boulder County Parks & Open Space staff will hold a series of open house meetings and public hearings in October to present findings, staff recommendations, and collect public feedback regarding the use of e-bikes on county-managed open space properties.

After a year of public outreach about e-bikes in 2018, the Boulder County Commissioners directed staff to allow e-bikes on certain trails on a pilot basis in 2019. During the course of the year, staff has conducted research including surveys of trail users, a county-wide telephone survey, a bicycle speed observation study, and a literature review of recreation conflict and e-bike research and policies in other jurisdictions.

Staff Recommendation

Staff recommendation is to allow class 1 and class 2 e-bikes on Boulder County trails on the plains where regular bikes are allowed.

In the Open Space Element of the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan, passive recreation is defined, in part, as non-motorized. Boulder County Parks & Open Space staff will also present options for amending the definition of passive recreation in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan Open Space Element to include e-bikes.

Online Public Comment:

Comments can now be submitted on the E-bikes on Open Space webpage, www.boco.org/e-bikes, through Wednesday, Nov. 13.

Open Houses:

• Wednesday, Oct. 2, 5-7 p.m.
  Boulder County Fairgrounds Barn A, 9595 Nelson Road, Longmont
  Brief presentation at 6 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 3, 5-7 p.m.
  Lafayette Public Library, 775 W. Public Rd., Lafayette
  Brief presentation at 6 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 6, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
  East Boulder Community Center Ballroom, 5660 Sioux Dr., Boulder
  Brief presentation at 3:30 p.m.

Public Hearings:

• Planning Commission, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1:30 p.m.
  Boulder County Courthouse, Third Floor, 1325 Pearl Street, Boulder
  A study session will be held to present the results of the pilot study and propose options for updating the passive recreation definition in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan Open Space Element.
• Parks & Open Space Advisory Committee, Thursday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m.
  Boulder County Courthouse, Third Floor, 1325 Pearl Street, Boulder
  Staff will request recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.
• Board of County Commissioners, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 5 p.m.
  Boulder County Courthouse, Third Floor, 1325 Pearl Street, Boulder
  Staff will request adoption of the staff recommendation.
• Planning Commission, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1:30 p.m.
  Boulder County Courthouse, Third Floor, 1325 Pearl Street, Boulder
  Staff will request a decision to amend the definition of passive recreation in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan Open Space Element.

For more information, please visit www.boco.org/e-bikes or contact Tina Nielsen, Special Projects Manager, at tnielsen@bouldercounty.org or 303-678-6279.

E-bike rider at Pella Crossing