{"id":794701,"date":"2019-04-10T17:52:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T23:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-county-moves-closer-to-allowing-e-bikes-on-recapth-after-tuesday-vote\/"},"modified":"2019-04-10T17:52:01","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T23:52:01","slug":"summit-county-moves-closer-to-allowing-e-bikes-on-recapth-after-tuesday-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-county-moves-closer-to-allowing-e-bikes-on-recapth-after-tuesday-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit County moves closer to allowing e-bikes on recapth after Tuesday vote"},"content":{"rendered":"
A cyclist (on a regular bicycle) rides the Frisco stretch of the Blue River recpath between Breckenridge and Frisco. E-bikes are set to be allowed on the county recpath network after a first reading of the proposed amendment passed Tuesday. A second reading and vote is set for April 23.<\/strong>
Summit Daily file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Summit County is getting set to allow e-bikes on the county recreation path network.<\/p>\n

During its regular meeting on Tuesday, the Board of County Commissioners gave initial approval to a staff resolution allowing Class I pedal-assisted e-bikes on paved recpaths in unincorporated areas.<\/p>\n

A second reading is scheduled in two weeks, on April 23, to allow members of the public a final opportunity to raise any outstanding objections or concerns about allowing e-bikes on the recpath. The commissioners will then vote to approve the ordinance, which is expected to take effect at the same time the towns finalize their own e-bike regulations.<\/p>\n

The draft amendment to county recreation path regulations would remove Class 1 e-bikes, which require pedaling to activate the electric-assist motor and are capped at 20 miles per hour, from the list of vehicles considered to be \u201cmotorized.\u201d Class 2, 3 and unclassified e-bikes will still be banned, along with motorized scooters and motorized skateboards, or \u201choverboards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian Lorch, director of Summit County Open Space & Trails, said that he and his staff made the recommendation to the commissioners after a long series of discussions with the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a pretty extensive public process and there was a lot of support as well as detractors, and this is the outcome of that process,\u201d Lorch said. \u201cWe had meetings, did a survey, had focus groups, an open house, and at all of them we heard concerns on both sides. But there was a lot of strong support to have e-bikes on the bike path.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most common reasons offered in support of allowing e-bikes included the convenience and accessibility e-bikes give to a broader population, especially the elderly. The most common reasons to oppose included issues regarding safety and increased bike traffic on the county\u2019s already-busy bike paths.<\/p>\n

Frequent visitor Sue Behling, who lives most of the year in Mesa, Arizona, and has been visiting Summit every summer for 11 years, is an e-bike rider herself and has been a vocal supporter of allowing them on the recpaths in the area, primarily because she sees it as a safer alternative to regular bikes for older people.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like me who visit Summit County for a season, we usually come for 2 \u00bd months, and we don\u2019t fully acclimate (to the altitude),\u201d Behling said. \u201cI\u2019m in my 60s and from low altitude. E-bikes make it just a little easier to get over the big hills, and it makes it safer for those of us not used to the conditions. I still have to work and pedal on a Class 1, but I have a lot more enjoyment, get my exercise and my money\u2019s worth from staying here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behling added that the 20-mph speed limit on Class 1 e-bikes mean they are not any riskier to ride than regular bikes. Behling said that competitive and sport cyclists, whom she refers to as \u201cspandex bikers,\u201d are more of a risk on the paths as they often ignore speed limits and safety rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they want to make safety such a big thing, they should do something with the spandex bikers,\u201d Behling said.<\/p>\n

Last year, Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier was among those on the fence and leaning away from allowing e-bikes on the recpaths based on safety concerns.<\/p>\n

However, after listening to the public and evaluating staff recommendations, Stiegelmeier has come around. She said her reversal came after being assured that the safety risks for Class 1 e-bikes were not significantly different from regular bikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concerns people have about speeding aren\u2019t very valid,\u201d Stiegelmeier said. \u201cThe speed limit is 25, and we already have people speeding above that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stiegelmeier said she also considered the positive benefit e-bikes would have for certain people, and found they outweighed potential risks concerning traffic volume. In fact, e-bikes might actually help with one of the county\u2019s biggest headaches \u2014 car traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should encourage more people to commute; especially people who have a little hill up to their house or to work that make a commute by a regular bike less desirable,\u201d Stiegelmeier said. \u201cWe\u2019re mostly recreating on the recpath, but I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll have a few more commuters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The county commissioners will hold a second reading on the e-bikes amendment on April 23 at the Summit County Courthouse in Breckenridge, with members of the public invited to attend and offer comment. After the second reading, a vote will take place among the commissioners, and, if passed, Class 1 e-bikes that operate on pedal-assist may be allowed on county recpaths as soon as next month. The county will coordinate the e-bike ordinance to begin concurrently with the towns, with a set date to be determined later.<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A cyclist (on a regular bicycle) rides the Frisco stretch of the Blue River recpath between Breckenridge and Frisco. E-bikes are set to be allowed on the county recpath network after a first reading of the proposed amendment passed Tuesday. A second reading and vote is set for April 23.Summit Daily file photo Summit County […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-794701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 12:05:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}