Daily Camera Archive on the Bike Ban
Mountain bikes in the Boulder Mountain Parks system (what we're calling the West Trail Study Area today) has been a bone of contention for a looooong time.... 6 years ago, we did some digging to research into how and when Boulder County mountain bikers were declared evil and dangerous.
Check out these historic news stories to get the skinny. It should be noted that there were approximately 150 mountain bikers in the Boulder County region when all of this started.
Date |
Story |
BMA Commentary |
| January 16, 1983 | PURE Environmental Bulletin opinion piece | This is the earliest Camera piece claiming that bikes do more damage to trails than other users. We now know this is not the case, yet continue to hear this argument over and over again. |
| January 19, 1983 | City Council Bans Bikes | Closed because of intolerance |
| January 30, 1983 | PURE environmental bulletin opinion piece | PURE columnist suggests bikes are "a very benign form of transportation" and sees prejudice. |
| February 14, 1983 | Mountain Bike Controversy | "damage caused by mountain bikes is irreversable" |
| August 31, 1985 | Bikers vs. Hikers | 2 years later, the issue hasn't gone away |
| February 24, 1987 | Park Board Bans Bikes on 2 Trails | It's bad, and getting worse |
| February 26, 1987 | Get Bikes Off All the Trails (Camera Editorial) | A depressing tirade from the Camera editorial board |
| March 7, 1987 | The Trails of Controversy | An attempt at balanced reporting |
|
March 11, 1987 |
Education, not Closings are the Answer (a lone reasonable voice) | Authored by Doug Emerson, owner of University Bikes |
|
March 12, 1987 |
12 More Trails Closed | That one hurt... |
