Steamboat Springs, a bronze-level IMBA ride center and self-proclaimed “Bike Town USA,” recently passed a measure to devote the town’s 1% lodging tax to trail development with a 71% voter approval rating, according to Steamboat Today.
According to Nikki Inglis, Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association Public Relations Manager, this spending approval “would commit more than $5.1 million to a trails expansion plan – a 10-year project that would connect trail networks, authorize a network of previously unauthorized trails on Buffalo Pass, complete new singletrack, add to multi-use byways downtown and enhance traffic crossings and trailhead amenities. With this master plan, we can truly achieve our full potential as Bike Town USA.”
However, the current spending plan did also include a development of the Yampa Street promenade. Tax revenues will be split between trail development and the promenade until the promenade receives $900,000. “Then, the majority of the tax will be dedicated to trail projects with a small amount going to the marketing of the amenities and capital improvements at Haymaker Golf Course,” according to Steamboat Today.
Even thought tax revenues will be split for an estimated three years, this is still a massive success for the Steamboat Springs Trails Alliance, and spells rapid and regular improvements for mountain biking in Steamboat Springs over the next decade.
For more details on trail development in Steamboat Springs, be sure to check out the Steamboat Springs Trails Alliance website.
