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City Council Decides on the West TSA:
No north-south connector, possibilities on Anemone trails and Walker connection
 "I felt that we should have found a way to make it work with bikes. I feel there were opportunities to talk, and they were pretty much snuffed out." Councilmember George Karakehian
"The fact that we can't bring ourselves to share a few miles of trail is very disappointing." Deputy Mayor Ken Wilson
"I do believe in providing solutions if they are workable, and providing opportunities to people if you can. I think mountain bikers have a vested interest in making any potential trail in the West TSA work." Councilmember KC Becker
"This group [mountain bikers] has caused a lot of us to challenge assumptions we've held for a long time. As we got to know them, you can't help but be impressed by their dedication, their allegiance to the environment and diversity of life on open space lands. I look forward to their participation for a long time." Councilmember Macon Cowles
Last night the Boulder City Council took a series of votes on the West Trail Study Area plan. BMA won't sugar coat this - this is an incredibly disappointing moment for mountain bikers in the city of Boulder. Throughout this process, staff and old-guard Boulder have been looking for a way to say "no" instead of reaching out to have an honest conversation and figure out ways to say "yes." But read on - the door has been left open on some important opportunities for mountain bikers as well.
To sum up what was voted upon regarding mountain bikes, with BMA analysis:
No motion was made on a north-south connector.
So it's not gonna happen, despite strong support from 3 council members (KC Becker, Ken Wilson, George Karakehian). There are no mountain bikers on city council, so it is not surprising that most of them don't understand our issues. We don't know about the rest of Boulder, but our moms taught us to share, even if it's the "crown jewel of open space" which needs sharing. It saddens us that as a community, Boulder cannot follow our moms' age-old wisdom.
Motion to look at ways to extend the Boulder Creek path to Betasso, and create a Walker Ranch connection as soon as a funding source is identified. This motion passed unanimously.
Both of these connections would be incredibly valuable to the mountain biking community. However it's unclear if or when these connections will happen. Rest assured BMA will hold staff's feet to the fire to get these connections on the ground. We hope council will do the same.
Motion to direct staff to explore possibilities for a bike loop or trail in the Anemone area (west of Settler's Park), especially focusing on a connection from the Boulder Canyon Path, as soon as possible. This motion passed 7-2, with Lisa Morzel and Matt Appelbaum opposed.
Staff already studied this area and said a trail couldn't be done. BMA is unconvinced this motion will do anything - asking staff to say "no" yet again makes little sense. Mountain bikers need three things to make this motion meaningful: 1) we want staff to engage a third-party trail design consultant to get an honest assessment of possibilities in this area; 2) we want to see action taken in 2011; and 3) we want the mountain bike community consulted on this opportunity. This is staff and Council's best opportunity to prove the pessimists among us wrong. If staff and council really want to build a bridge to mountain bikers, we just showed them the path.
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