Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.jamesdenver
04-26-06, 08:50 AM
This was a topic last fall -- Some good follow up :)
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http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3751598
Patrol won't rein in cyclists
Cap on events' size abandoned. The idea to allow no more than 2,500 pedalers led to an outcry and could have hurt some popular rides.
By Jason Blevins
Denver Post Staff Writer
State Patrol Chief Mark Trostel shakes hands Tuesday with Ride the Rockies tour director Paul Balaguer after the lifting of a size limit on bicycling events. At left is Bicycle Colorado executive director Dan Grunig. Cmdr. Doyle Eicher is at right. (Post / Kathryn Scott Osler)
The Colorado State Patrol on Tuesday rescinded a controversial plan to limit cycling events and races to 2,500 riders.
"We have revisited this issue, and through a lot of hard work ... we have determined that the cap will not be implemented ... for now and in the foreseeable future," said patrol Chief Mark Trostel, who led a series of monthly meetings with cyclists and Colorado Department of Transportation representatives to create a plan that replaces the proposed cap.
Announced in November, the cap initially would have affected four popular cycling events this year, including Douglas County's Elephant Rock ride and the Evergreen-to-Avon Triple Bypass. Trostel said the curb on mass pedaling was designed to promote safety on the roads as the number of cycling events and participants grew.
Cyclists criticized the cap, lamenting its impact on charities that benefit from the rides and the patrol's apparent failure to consult with cycling groups before installing the limit.
Organizers of Lance Armstrong's Livestrong ride, which benefits cancer research, threatened to move the inaugural Colorado charity ride to another state if the ban was not removed.
Cyclists pointed to a 2000 CDOT bicycle tourism study that counted more than 700,000 biking tourists spending $193 million a year and employing nearly 2,500 Colorado workers. Plus, cyclists said, event organizers pay for any patrol work needed during their events, eliminating any financial burden their rides may cause the patrol.
A few weeks after the patrol announced the cap, it suspended its implementation for one year, citing the outcry from cyclists and their supporters, who included several prominent lawmakers.
"I quickly learned there are a lot more bicyclists in this state and bicycling enthusiasts than I originally thought," Trostel said. "I received a lot of
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e-mails, a lot of calls and a lot of input. We found out that was not the best decision at the time."
After several meetings, a new event management plan was forged. CDOT is sculpting an event guidebook that will outline requirements and the best practices used by the most successful cycling events. The patrol has revamped its event permitting application and will work with organizers to communicate with drivers, riders and landowners who may be affected by events.
Bicycle Colorado, a nonprofit that gathered about 10,000 signatures from irate cyclists after the announcement of the cap, led the negotiations with the patrol. Executive director Dan Grunig said the new plan is a work in a progress that will evolve as event organizers find improved ways to ensure the safety of riders and motorists and lessen their impact on local homeowners and landowners.
Grunig said the patrol will work with the motorists, and event organizers will manage the riders. And most important, Colorado's cyclists will remain unhindered to pedal en masse.
"We are glad to announce that Colorado is still open for cycling," Grunig said.
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http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3751598
Patrol won't rein in cyclists
Cap on events' size abandoned. The idea to allow no more than 2,500 pedalers led to an outcry and could have hurt some popular rides.
By Jason Blevins
Denver Post Staff Writer
State Patrol Chief Mark Trostel shakes hands Tuesday with Ride the Rockies tour director Paul Balaguer after the lifting of a size limit on bicycling events. At left is Bicycle Colorado executive director Dan Grunig. Cmdr. Doyle Eicher is at right. (Post / Kathryn Scott Osler)
The Colorado State Patrol on Tuesday rescinded a controversial plan to limit cycling events and races to 2,500 riders.
"We have revisited this issue, and through a lot of hard work ... we have determined that the cap will not be implemented ... for now and in the foreseeable future," said patrol Chief Mark Trostel, who led a series of monthly meetings with cyclists and Colorado Department of Transportation representatives to create a plan that replaces the proposed cap.
Announced in November, the cap initially would have affected four popular cycling events this year, including Douglas County's Elephant Rock ride and the Evergreen-to-Avon Triple Bypass. Trostel said the curb on mass pedaling was designed to promote safety on the roads as the number of cycling events and participants grew.
Cyclists criticized the cap, lamenting its impact on charities that benefit from the rides and the patrol's apparent failure to consult with cycling groups before installing the limit.
Organizers of Lance Armstrong's Livestrong ride, which benefits cancer research, threatened to move the inaugural Colorado charity ride to another state if the ban was not removed.
Cyclists pointed to a 2000 CDOT bicycle tourism study that counted more than 700,000 biking tourists spending $193 million a year and employing nearly 2,500 Colorado workers. Plus, cyclists said, event organizers pay for any patrol work needed during their events, eliminating any financial burden their rides may cause the patrol.
A few weeks after the patrol announced the cap, it suspended its implementation for one year, citing the outcry from cyclists and their supporters, who included several prominent lawmakers.
"I quickly learned there are a lot more bicyclists in this state and bicycling enthusiasts than I originally thought," Trostel said. "I received a lot of
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
e-mails, a lot of calls and a lot of input. We found out that was not the best decision at the time."
After several meetings, a new event management plan was forged. CDOT is sculpting an event guidebook that will outline requirements and the best practices used by the most successful cycling events. The patrol has revamped its event permitting application and will work with organizers to communicate with drivers, riders and landowners who may be affected by events.
Bicycle Colorado, a nonprofit that gathered about 10,000 signatures from irate cyclists after the announcement of the cap, led the negotiations with the patrol. Executive director Dan Grunig said the new plan is a work in a progress that will evolve as event organizers find improved ways to ensure the safety of riders and motorists and lessen their impact on local homeowners and landowners.
Grunig said the patrol will work with the motorists, and event organizers will manage the riders. And most important, Colorado's cyclists will remain unhindered to pedal en masse.
"We are glad to announce that Colorado is still open for cycling," Grunig said.