Boulder to create bicycle tagging program.

[Moustache rider]

There should be a Daily Camera article soon with more details once an official announcement is made by the city. This is what I know at the moment.

Boulder open space and mountain parks will be instituting a mandatory bicycle tag/permit program to use any open space properties. It will be similar to the off leash dog program. You must register and agree to a set of regulations, watch a video and pay a yearly fee. You will be issued a tag and a bell that you must attach to your handlebars. The bell must be used to signal other trail users as you approach them.
The tag will have a number on it and other trail users can use this number to report you for any violation of open space rules. Three reports within a specified period of time and you will be fined and have your access suspended.
The fee will be $50 for Boulder county residents, higher for out of county.

It sounds like this is going to start Jan 1st or as soon as they can get the program set up.

[edemtbs]

There should be a Daily Camera article soon with more details once an official announcement is made by the city. This is what I know at the moment.

Boulder open space and mountain parks will be instituting a mandatory bicycle tag/permit program to use any open space properties. It will be similar to the off leash dog program. You must register and agree to a set of regulations, watch a video and pay a yearly fee. You will be issued a tag and a bell that you must attach to your handlebars. The bell must be used to signal other trail users as you approach them.
The tag will have a number on it and other trail users can use this number to report you for any violation of open space rules. Three reports within a specified period of time and you will be fined and have your access suspended.
The fee will be $50 for Boulder county residents, higher for out of county.

It sounds like this is going to start Jan 1st or as soon as they can get the program set up.

Are the bike paths considered Open Space?

Ed

[gearwhine]

amazing....

[edemtbs]

amazing....

I'm seriously hoping it's a joke, but I guess it's December 1st and not April 1st. And it is Boulder.

Ed

[Pau11y]

I had a visual of a CO2 tranq gun and red fuzzy-tail'd darts in necks...and spando sportin' "Professionals" auguring in unconscious in the dirt

[Jdub]

I'm seriously hoping it's a joke, but I guess it's December 1st and not April 1st.

Ed

Its just preposterous enough for me to believe the city of Boulder would do this. In the previous DC article, it said it was a "big step" to get to this point. If this is true, then evidently it takes less than a week to take a "big step".

[Curtis C]

Are the trails there really that much better than the rest of Colorado? Its seems they believe all this overcrowding is caused by folks from outside of Boulder.

C

[edemtbs]

Are the trails there really that much better than the rest of Colorado? Its seems they believe all this overcrowding is caused by folks from outside of Boulder.

C

No, not even close. It is not an MTB destination and quite the opposite in my opinion.

** edit ** I should clarify. The trails in and near the city of Boulder are okay but nothing to brag about and are hardly worth the time and effort to purposely drive to as a destination - i.e. make a day or weekend of it. Especially if they impose this idiotic tagging system.

There are trails in greater Boulder County that are fun obviously but I think this tagging will impact the trail systems in and near Boulder the city more than trails up by Nederland for example. I could be wrong.

Ed

[UncleTrail]

There should be a Daily Camera article soon with more details once an official announcement is made by the city. This is what I know at the moment.

Boulder open space and mountain parks will be instituting a mandatory bicycle tag/permit program to use any open space properties. It will be similar to the off leash dog program. You must register and agree to a set of regulations, watch a video and pay a yearly fee. You will be issued a tag and a bell that you must attach to your handlebars. The bell must be used to signal other trail users as you approach them.
The tag will have a number on it and other trail users can use this number to report you for any violation of open space rules. Three reports within a specified period of time and you will be fined and have your access suspended.
The fee will be $50 for Boulder county residents, higher for out of county.

It sounds like this is going to start Jan 1st or as soon as they can get the program set up.

Something to think about.
A user fee without a clearly defined purpose or service being provided using the collected fee is a tax.
Clear the Bench Colorado » When is a “fee” not a tax? When the Mullarkey Court says so…

If the fees are being used to maintain non-bike facilities then it is really a tax and must be voted on.

So what are the proceeds being used for?

Who decides how the money will be used?
Was that voted on also?

What is the appeal process when someone reports you?

[unc-76]

This is totally a bs post. Nothing happens in Boulder without serious hand wringing/soul searching. OSMP are not empowered to make decisions like this without City Council support and unending community comment. Not gonna happen on Jan 1. Mustache is just taking the piss out of us.

[edemtbs]

This is totally a bs post. Nothing happens in Boulder without serious hand wringing/soul searching. OSMP are not empowered to make decisions like this without City Council support and unending community comment. Not gonna happen on Jan 1. Mustache is just taking the piss out of us.

I hope so. He got me going if he is "taking the piss out of us"

Ed

[xcguy]

It's true. All fees collected will be used to buy hikers new boots and doggies new leashes.
If a biker rides without the required tag, hikers will be empowered by law to demand a $50 dollar fine on the spot. It's true.

[zrm]

If it's on the interwebz, especially MTBR it must be true.

[edemtbs]

If it's on the interwebz, especially MTBR it must be true.

Where's that fish on a hook picture...

Ed

[jugdish]

True or not the City of Boulder gets not one more penny from me. Small potatoes, sure but I know exactly where I stand as a mtn biker in Boulda.

[skiahh]

So if this is accurate, Boulder is officially saying that mountain bikers are like dogs. I'm thinking there's the possibility of someone challenging this in state court if hikers aren't required to register and pay the same fee.

I wonder if IMBA will take a stand against this.

[mtbklutz]

I googled it and couldn't find anything. I will reserve judgement until I see something from an official source...

[topmounter]

Are the trails there really that much better than the rest of Colorado? Its seems they believe all this overcrowding is caused by folks from outside of Boulder.

C

I LOL ROF

No.

[schnauzers]

There should be a Daily Camera article soon with more details once an official announcement is made by the city. This is what I know at the moment.

Don't be an a$$.

And for all of you who even remotely believed this, I want to do business with you. I've got some magical peanuts I'd like to sell you.

BTW, Philadelphia charges a $20 a year fee for MTBers to use Wissahickon park. It's actually one of the ways (plus the bike patrol) we were able to keep access after the "Friends of Wissahickon" had convinced the city to close it. I'm not advocating a "pay for use", but money from those tags were put back into the trail system. This eventually paved the way for Trail Solutions (an IMBA spin-off) to rebuild the entire poorly designed network.

[topmounter]

Highly improbable.

The sale of tags to tourists alone would be a logistical and enforcement nightmare.

[KarateChicken]

nice troll for tha lulz