Mountain-biking advocate urges council to move forward on East Bench trail phases; cites successful recent trailheads

Chris Olsen, a District 6 resident and longtime mountain biker, urged the council to proceed with development of East Bench trail phases 2 and 3 and highlighted the popularity of recently opened trailheads. Olsen said online usage data (from Trailforks) shows strong user interest in new trails and asked the council to prioritize trail development to reduce travel across the valley and ease local bottlenecks.

Olsen told the council the Parley’s Point Trailhead and recently opened Nineteenth Avenue and Ridgeline Trails have been “very popular” and described them as a success. He said a vocal special-interest group has delayed progress on East Bench phases 2 and 3 and argued that comparisons to Boulder are inapt; he asked the council to move forward and to make signage primarily about safety rather than exclusion, specifically referencing the “heels not wheels” style of signs as a source of conflict.

The council did not take formal action on trail development during this meeting; Olsen’s remarks were recorded during the general-comment period and no council test or motion on the East Bench trails was recorded in the transcript. The speaker asked the administration to continue with the planning process and public engagement that preceded the COVID-19 pandemic open houses for Corner Canyon North.