Unfortunately, I had to leave the meeting at the recreation center on April 13 early for a coaching obligation. However, what I did hear from the anti e-bike people is that they seem to be anti-everything, except their own agenda.
We would all like to have the river trail just for ourselves, but that isn’t going to happen. Of course, the river trail is getting more crowded but so is Durango.
Certainly kind people on bikes will say, “on your left” or ring their bike bell as a common bike courtesy and safety measure. It is not done to scare people, as one woman who spoke seemed to think.
One gentleman said if you can’t ride anything but an e-bike, maybe you shouldn’t be riding at all. I wonder how he will feel when old father time begins playing tricks on him? The only difference between my regular bike and my e-bike is that my legs feel 30 years younger on the power-assist bike, and I’m able to do rides that I probably couldn’t do anymore. E-bikes are definitely the wave of the future, and people probably felt the same way about the Model T.
Kudos to Cathy Metz and her staff for trying to do everything humanly possible to appease as many people as possible. Signage, striping and increased enforcement of safety rules will certainly go a long ways to help some of the situations. Essentially, it will all have to come down to people themselves: bikers, strollers, runners, dog walkers, etc.
The Animas River Trail should be for everyone to enjoy in their own way, safely.
Bill Palmer
Durango
