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Incline Friends Statement on Reopening the Manitou Incline
May 28, 2020

The Incline Friends, a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining and sustaining the Manitou Incline, have adopted the following statement regarding reopening the Incline and Manitou Springs’s proposal to introduce a paid reservation system.

Short-term (during the pandemic)

The Incline Friends have urged respect for Manitou Springs’s action to keep the Incline closed since March 18 due to pandemic concerns.

Current public health conditions enable reopening the Incline with a limit of 50 to 100 users per hour, as Manitou Springs staff have indicated. Accordingly, we request that Manitou Springs Council vote to reopen the Incline at its June 2 meeting. We propose a reopening date of June 5.

We have offered to assist Manitou Springs by deploying volunteer social distancing ambassadors to encourage compliance with the per-hour usage limit and other measures intended to protect public health. Specifically, we recommend the following guidelines:

No more than 100 people entering the Incline per hour
Carry a mask and wear it when passing or being passed
Step off to the side when resting
No downward flow on the Incline—return down on the Barr Trail

We expect a high level of compliance because of users’ awareness that failure to comply could result in a renewed closure of the Incline.

Developing a temporary reservation system could take months, especially since it would require the concurrence of Colorado Springs and the U.S. Forest Service. Making the reopening of the Incline contingent on development of a reservation system is both unacceptable and unnecessary.

Long-term (beyond the pandemic)

We acknowledge that the Incline’s popularity has created significant pressure on the Ruxton Avenue corridor, and we have expressed our readiness to work with Manitou Springs to mitigate those impacts.

Charging a fee for the Incline would be very difficult to enforce. However, our primary objection is to requiring a reservation to use the Incline. Open, unlimited access to the Incline must be retained for local users who travel up Ruxton Avenue to the Incline by shuttle, walking, jogging, or biking. They are not making any contribution to traffic and parking problems in the Ruxton corridor, and as such, their ability to enjoy this much-loved resource when they so desire should not be restricted.

We have no objection to the adoption of traffic or parking restrictions on Ruxton Avenue.

We look forward to participating in discussions toward a long-term Incline management solution that is equitable and beneficial for all parties.

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(Editors note, this was intended to be sent on Valentine’s day! But.. better late than never 🙂 )

It seems only fitting that we write this on Valentine’s Day.

The heart figures prominently in all things Incline. First of all, it is a heart-pounding experience. Secondly, despite the grueling challenge it presents, the Incline has found a special place in the hearts of many who love and embrace that challenge. Lastly but certainly not least is the sharing of that love as Incliners have generously and consistently given back to this resource over the years through financial donations, in sweat equity on work projects and being good stewards in picking up litter.

Thanks to your generosity, for the second year in a row Incline Friends, has been able to share that love with our friends and partners at the Rocky Mountain Field Institute. RMFI has been a driving force in the effort to restore and stabilize the Barr Trail as well as doing maintenance work on the trail connecting the top of the Incline to the Barr. Anyone who has used the Barr consistently in recent years knows that it has taken a beating, that is to say, it has been severely degraded.

At the same time, RMFI has seen it’s funding for this project dwindle. After a big 2018 decrease in the previous contribution from the city of Manitou Springs, city officials have indicated they will likely not offer any assistance in 2019.

The Incline Friends Board of Directors considers the Barr Trail, particularly the lower 3 miles that get the most use, to be part of the Incline “corridor.”

In 2018 IF contributed $10,000 to RMFI’s Barr Trail Improvement project. This year, in response to a RMFI request, the BOD voted unanimously to donate $5,000 to that project with a provision for a maximum of another $5,000 in matching funds should RMFI be able to secure additional funding. RMFI’s current project proposal includes 18 work days on the Barr Trail to commence in the fall of 2019 when there is less traffic on the trail.

With the Barr Trail in mind, the major focus of Incline Friends remains construction of northern trails off of the Incline, connecting up with the Ute Trail, trails that we believe will have the potential to substantially reduce traffic on the Barr. On February 14 we expressed this intention to the Colorado Springs Parks Board along with our commitment to fund the construction of two such trails, a commitment we had previously mentioned to members of the parks department. It is our fervent hope to get these two trails completed in 2019. To review, the Incline Master Plan, developed in 2011 includes three northern trails. As it stands now our efforts would involve a trail breaking off the Incline at roughly tie # 655 and another around tie # 1300. The third trail would take hikers from the top of the Incline to the north, again connecting to the Ute trail. The top portion of that trail would be on U.S. Forest Service Land and will require coordinating the effort with that agency.

Lastly, our re-designed web site should be ready to go live sometime in March and we will be sure to let you know when that happens, in the hope that you will find it useful and a good source of information.

As always, we are grateful for your continued support.

Be safe out there.

Excelsior!

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