An ordinance expanding electric bike access on Colorado Springs trails is going into effect Tuesday. But cyclists who have long awaited a legal day at most of the city’s premier outdoor destinations will have to wait longer.

That’s in line with the Parks Department’s “phased rollout,” as announced following a City Council decision in February.

After years of debate and surveying, that decision classified Class 1 e-bikes as “non-motorized use” in city code — clearing the way for their use on properties funded by the 1997 voter-approved Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) ordinance. The TOPS ordinance bans motorized vehicles from such properties. (Class 1 e-bikes are equipped with electric motors that provide boosts when the rider is pedaling).

While TOPS-related legal and ethical questions linger among critics, others have set their focus on what the city is describing as Phase I of an effort “that emphasizes safety and education.”

Class 1 e-bikes will only be allowed on urban trails — paved and gravel paths that are expected to be mapped at coloradosprings.gov/ebikes. The city is launching a campaign called TrailWiseCOS “to promote proper trail etiquette and use of e-bikes,” TOPS Manager Lonna Thelen said in an email.

Signage would be placed across urban trails and parks and open spaces, she said, and “education events” would be scheduled. Meanwhile, “staff is working on code updates” regarding enforcement, along with “conservation patrol days,” Thelen said.

She added: “Future discussions will be had with the conservation easement holder to work on determination of if e-bikes are allowed on other conservation eased properties.”

Palmer Land Conservancy holds conservation easements across Ute Valley Park and Red Rock Canyon, Stratton and Blodgett open spaces, among several other popular destinations. When the City Council approved the e-bike ordinance, the conservancy made it clear that its conservation easements stood apart from city code, and that those easements prohibited e-bikes.

Those easements are legal documents that would require careful and potentially complicated amendments, explained Steve Harris, the conservancy’s land stewardship director.

“I don’t think any of us yet know exactly what an amendment would look like,” he said.

But he expected it would require a detailed analysis of “conservation values” and individual, previously approved park master and management plans. A Palmer Land committee and its board of trustees would need to approve any amendment, Harris said. “And of course there’s a cost involved as well to some degree; our attorney would also have to review it.”

Thelen said Phase II “could look at allowing Class 1 e-bikes on open spaces” but “at this time no timeframe has been set.”

Colorado Springs Mountain Bike Association has been among advocacy groups pushing for more access.

“There’s a point of frustration and a point of confusion around why this is taking longer,” said the group’s Executive Director Keith Thompson.

He has noted Douglas, Jefferson and Boulder counties years ago deciding on e-bike access, among other land managers across the state. And while some in Colorado Springs have expressed worry over conflicts with hikers and other bikers and damage to trails, Thompson has insisted that “e-bikes are simply an incremental innovation of bicycles and should be treated like a conventional bicycle.”

But he said he understood the city’s phased, education- and enforcement-minded approach: “We continue to believe that a measured and scalable approach is wise for the longer term.” He added: “We’re just hoping the city chooses to ramp up their expansion as quickly as possible.”

Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates Executive Director Cory Sutela has pointed to Palmer Park, where there is no conservation easement. He recognized e-bikes have long been riding there illegally, as they have at all city parks and open spaces.

“We need to move toward allowing that in a legal way,” Sutela said. “As always, we want to make sure it’s done in a way that provides access but also respects the resource.”

The natural resource is the main priority for Palmer Land Conservancy, Harris emphasized.

“We strongly encourage the city to beef up their enforcement ability,” he said. “Especially because I don’t think this is the end of the road for e-bikes. We know there are products out there that don’t fit into the Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 categories. I just think there are looming uncertainties, and having more enforcement authorities will allow them to act.”