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Trail Mix debates e-bike access as BLM review moves toward final decision
Summary
Committee members discussed local e-bike policy, community outreach and perceptions after a recent Trail Mix recommendation; the BLM reported it had received nearly 1,500 public comments on a related e-bike environmental assessment.
Members of the Grand County Trail Mix Committee spent substantial time discussing electric-bicycle (e-bike) access and community reactions to the committee’s earlier recommendation.
At the meeting, staff summarized the committee’s previous vote favoring a staggered or limited opening of certain trails to class 1 e-bikes and noted business owners had pushed for more permissive access. Multiple business owners later expressed frustration that Trail Mix had not aligned with their preferred option, and several told staff they felt excluded from the committee’s process.
Committee members and attendees said there is a perception among some business owners that the committee is “intimidating” or not welcoming to newcomers. Committee members urged improved outreach: suggestions included publishing short monthly summaries of meetings, spotlighting each rep with a short bio and photo on social media, and distributing paper postcards with QR codes linking to the county’s non-motorized master-plan survey.
The BLM representative reported agency progress on a separate but related process: the BLM closed an e-bike environmental-assessment comment period with about 1,500 comments, roughly 1,200 of which were form letters; staff said approximately 300 were independent comments and that a final decision and final EA were on track for completion by September.
Members discussed substantive safety and design issues tied to e-bikes: how pedal-assist affects uphill and off-trail use, potential for increased user-created damage in sandy terrain, and the need for trail designs (for example, bench-cut trails or one-way designations) that reduce conflicts. Committee members and volunteers raised concerns about user behavior, maintenance burdens and potential rescue incidents on technical trails. One volunteer said some community members view business owners pushing for expanded e-bike access as motivated by profit rather than broader community interests.
The committee agreed to improve its public outreach and invited reps to collect short bios and photos to better connect users and businesses to their representatives. No new policy decision was made at the meeting; committee members emphasized continued deliberation and outreach ahead of any change in trail designations or official recommendations.
