legalization
Manitou Incline Officially Legal
From Pikes Peak Sports:
With one quick swing on Friday morning, Colorado Springs city councilman Scott Hente smashed a bottle of sparkling apple cider across the old “No Trespassing” sign and the Manitou Incline became legal for all to enjoy.
Members of the nonprofit Incline Friends group, special guests and early morning Incline hikers joined a media frenzy for the official opening.
Hente ha pushed for years for the Incline to become legal and he was there to “christen” a new era for the old railway bed. “We know that this is an important day for the people of the Pikes Peak Region and I just want to encourage people to enjoy this recreational activity,” Hente saud.
He pointed to the economic impact that the Incline is expected to have, and encouraged Incline hikers to support businesses in Manitou Springs.
“It’s a huge economic engine for the entire Pikes Peak Region,” Hente said. “I encourage everyone when you get done to have breakfast, a beer, both, at a Manitou restaurant. This is a huge economic activity for Pikes Peak and it exemplifies all of the recreational activities we like to do.”
Hente was joined by Steve Bremner, Incline Friends president, who worked for years to help complete the Manitou Incline Management Plan.
“It has been four years since we started the management plan and two years since we finished the plan,” Bremner said. “But we’re finally legal, Feb. 1, 2013.”
Unfamiliar Incline View
Fortunately the rumors that the Manitou Incline No Trespassing sign had been stolen turned out to be false. Before someone actually did steal it for a souvenir of the illegal Incline years, the sign was removed yesterday. The sign will be donated to the Pioneers Museum or some other local museum.
Tomorrow, February 1st, the Incline will be legal to hike starting at dawn. The Incline Friends are doing a celebratory hike. To join them be at the bottom of the Incline at 7 AM. Directions to the Manitou Incline trailhead are here.
Legalized After Long Climb!
Last night the Manitou Springs city council voted 6-0 for the resolution allowing recreational use of the Manitou Incline. Now there’s only a couple days left for normally law abiding citizens to break the law by trespassing on the Incline. The Manitou Incline will be legal for hiking starting Friday, February 1st at dawn.
The Incline Friends are planing a celebratory hike of the Incline Friday morning at 7 AM. Meet at the bottom of the Incline to join them. An official celebration is being planned in March.
Many thousands of hikers and fitness enthusiasts have passed by the no trespassing sign on the Manitou Incline. This first no trespassing sign was put on the Incline in the summer of 1999. The first sign was right in the middle of the tracks and kept being pulled out.
The following summer the metal sign that is familiar to so many people was installed and was more to the side instead of right in the middle. Whether it was because the sign was to the side or it was installed better, that sign has withstood over a decade of trespassers.
There were a few years when the metal sign had a red and white sign bolted over it. It eventually disappeared and it was back to the bare metal no trespassing sign.
The sign belongs to the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and is to be donated to The Pioneer Museum. There was a rumor that the no trespassing sign that has stood for so many years didn’t quite survive to the opening of the Incline and disappeared over the weekend. Fortunately the rumor seems to be false and there are plans to remove it before it does disappear.
Incline Expected to be Legal February 1, 2013
After 4 years and much hard work by many people the Manitou Incline is expected to be legal for hiking the beginning of next month. The U.S. Senate late Sunday approved a bill clearing up the railway right of way issue for the Incline. Sen. Michael Bennet pushed the bill in the Senate and Rep. Doug Lamborn led the effort in the House where the bill passed back in July.
The Manitou Incline management plan identified 13 key steps to complete before the Incline could be made legal. Now that all of those steps have been taken, the only things remaining are for Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs to pass resolutions making hiking it legal. The Colorado Springs City Council is expected to vote on the resolution at its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8. Manitou Springs has indicated it will vote on resolution during a Special Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
“As we look at closing this chapter of the process with a vote to legalize the Incline from the City of Colorado Springs and the City of Manitou Springs’ City Councils, we can begin the next chapter in our process – improving the Incline,” said Sarah Bryarly, Landscaping Architect and Project Manager for the City of Colorado Springs.
The Incline Friends is the non-profit tasked with fundraising for improving the Incline and have been a big part of legalizing the Incline. Incline Friends will need your help in a major fundraising push. Total cost to implement the plan will run about $1 million and they need $200,000 of that by the first week of March to meet a critical grant deadline. They expect much of this to come from private donors but not all of it.
They’ll start with the Incline Friends Karma Hour, 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15 at Bristol Brewery (1647 S. Tejon). Bristol will donate $1 to the Incline Friends for every pint sold.
In the meantime, we’d like to encourage you to join Incline Friends and/or make an online contribution (find the PayPal “Donate” link on the main page of the Incline Friends website.) There’s also a donation tube at the bottom of the Incline that you can throw in a buck or more when you hike the Incline.
Critical Incline Votes
Update 2/28/12: Both Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs city councils unanimously approved the IGA for the Incline. That’s 2 more big steps climbed but there are many more including an act of Congress before the Incline can be legallly opened.
Tomorrow is a critical day in the legalization of the Manitou Incline for hiking or running for those that can. Both Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs will be voting on the inter-governmental agreement for managing the Incline. It is far from certain that the agreement will be approved by Manitou at this time. Keep reading to learn what you can do to help.
Manitou residents are unhappy with the traffic and parking issues. Some on the Manitou Springs City Council feel they are being forced into allowing Incline hikers because it would be difficult to stop people at this point. They also want to find a way to make Incline users to pay to use it.
If the process hadn’t been stretched out so far, they might remember that the majority of people were against paying to use the Incline. It creates liability issues for Colorado Springs if money is charged. Charging requires some way to enforce it and collect it which could become a hassle for hikers.
The Manitou Springs Council special packet has the inter-governmental agreement that spells out who will be responsible for what. In general Colorado Springs is responsible for the trailhead creation and maintenance. They also are responsible for much of the maintenance of the Incline itself. They also work with the Incline Friends to raise money and apply for grants. Manitou is responsible for parking and traffic control.
There’s an interesting poll on Pikes Peak Sports about paying to park and/or hike the Incline. Out There Colorado also has a pay for the Incline poll.
From the Incline Friends
Thank you for taking an interest in the Incline. The Incline Friends now need your help!
The Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) is scheduled to be reviewed February 28 by both Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs City Councils. This is a very important document. Both city councils must approve the IGA before the Incline can be made legal and open to the public.
Here is what we need from you:
If you live in Manitou Springs – Please contact your local City Council member and encourage them to approve the agreement on February 28. Here is the message you can send (copy and paste into an e-mail):
“In order to make the Incline sustainable and legal and address the ongoing parking and traffic impacts to Manitou Springs , we will need all parties working together to make the Incline an asset for our community, Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region.
A key component noted in the Intergovernmental Agreement is parking regulations and a residential parking plan for Ruxton Ave. and the surrounding neighborhoods, to manage the parking and traffic.
Other components include establishing a trailhead at the base of the Incline, addressing the unsafe conditions on the Incline, fixing and maintaining the surrounding and interconnected trail system including the Barr Trail and managing the overall use of the Incline.
Please consider signing the IGA on Feb. 28. As a resident of Manitou Springs, I understand that the alternative to not moving forward with the Incline is the status quo which is not acceptable. People in large numbers (350,000 – 500,000 trips per year) will continue to use the Incline and the City of Manitou Springs can benefit from these visitors visiting our businesses and contributing to our sales and tax base.
To do nothing is not an option! Nobody likes the situation as it Is, so collaboration and cooperation with other key stakeholders is critical. If we don’t’ do anything now, it will only get worse!”
Manitou Springs City Council contacts:
Mayor Marc Snyder – msnyder@comsgov.com
Donna Ford, At large – dford@comsgov.com
Randy Hodges, At large – rhodges@comsgov.com
Gary Smith, At large – gsmith@comsgov.com
Michael Gerbig, Ward 1 – mgerbig@comsgov.com
Coreen Toll, Ward 2 – ctoll@comsgov.com
Matt Carpenter, Mayor Pro-Tem, Ward 3 – mcarpenter@comsgov.com
All members can be reached @ 719-385-5481
__________________________________________________________________________________If you live in Colorado Springs – Please contact your local City Council member and encourage them to approve the agreement on February 28th. Here is the message you can send (copy and paste into an e-mail):
“In order to make the Incline sustainable and legal and address the ongoing parking and traffic impacts to Manitou Springs, we will need all parties working together to make the Incline an asset for Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and the Pikes Peak region.
The Intergovernmental Agreement will address Incline parking and traffic issues, establishing a trailhead at the base of the Incline, addressing the unsafe conditions on the Incline, fixing and maintaining the surrounding and interconnected trail system including the Barr Trail and managing the overall use of the Incline.
Please consider signing the IGA on Feb. 28. As a resident of Colorado Springs, I understand that the alternative to not moving forward with the Incline is the status quo which is not acceptable. People in large numbers (350,000 – 500,000 trips per year) will continue to do the incline and our entire community can benefit from having this unique treasure available to locals and visitors.
Please don’t lose this opportunity to move this process forward.”
Colorado Springs City Council contacts:
Merv Bennett, At-Large – mbennett@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5469
Lisa Czelatdko, District 3 – lczelatdko@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5470
Angela Dougan, District 2 – adougan@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5493
Scott Hente, President – shente@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5487
Bernie Herpin, District 4 – bherpin@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5492
Tim Leigh, At-Large – tleigh@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5483
Jan Martin, President Pro-Tem – jmartin@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5486
Val Snider, At-Large – vsnider@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5485
Brandy Williams, At-Large – bwilliams@springsgov.com
(719) 385-5491
Thank you for helping move this process forward for the benefit of all.
Act of Congress Needed to Legalize Hiking the Incline
Yes, you read the title correctly. It looks like it’s literally going to take an act of the US Congress to legalize hiking the Manitou Incline although it’ll take even more than that.
The Incline Friends found out last summer that the federal government has to declare railroads abandoned before the land can be used for something else. There was confusion about whether it applied to the Incline since it was only a mile long and didn’t connect to another tracks. At the Incline Friends Membership Drive in January, one of the board members said that they didn’t have final word but thought it wouldn’t be a problem.
Now it’s become clear it’ll take an act of Congress to allow the U.S. Forest Service to accept the Manitou and Pike’s Peak Railway’s relinquishment of their right-of-way. A couple weeks ago Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05) introduced H.R. 4073 to address the Incline right-of-way.
“This is just one of many necessary steps needed to hopefully open the Manitou Incline. I want to recognize and thank all those in Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs who have been working on resolving this issue for years. This Act of Congress addresses an obscure territorial-era law on the federal books related to railways. I have every expectation that this bill will move quickly through the House and could become law as early as this Spring, pending passage in the Senate. This bill does not resolve all the issues necessary for legal access to the Incline, but does solve the critical federal roadblock.” — Doug Lamborn (CO-05)
Two more big steps for legalizing the Incline take place on February 28, 2012 when both Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs city councils are to vote on the inter-governmental agreement for managing the Incline.
Manitou City Council Discussing Incline IGA Tonight
Manitou Springs city council is discussing the Inter-Governmental Agreement with Colorado Springs for the Manitou Incline in a work session tonight at 7 PM. They could move it to a February 28 vote or scuttle it for now. The work session is open to the public.
Colorado Springs city council considered it yesterday and moved it to a February 28th vote without much discussion. It isn’t expected to be such clear sailing tonight in Manitou. Last month Manitou’s Parking Authority Board voted to ask council to wait to approve the IGA until there’s a parking plan in place. Council member Matt Carpenter who started the Incline Club and had a part in popularizing it doesn’t seem to want it legalized at all since he thinks it has gotten to be too popular of a hike.
A packet including the IGA and supporting documents is posted on the Manitou Incline website if you want to see the details.
