It amuses my daughter when I tell her about rotary phones, party lines and other childhood/young adult realities of an ancient age. She was surprised to learn that bicycles led to the improvement of roads and were actually the parent of the car. (I’m not old enough to remember that transition but my great-grandparents were.) The bike craze was underway as cars were being invented. For that reason alone, bikes should be accorded more respect.

Currently, there is controversy about electric bikes on Colorado Springs area trails. Our hard-surface, urban trails allow Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes. Pedal-assist means the moment you stop pedaling the bike no longer goes forward. Local bike shop owners will tell you e-bikes sales are keeping them operating. We need these bike shops to stay in business because they sell and service the bikes we use.

But what about our soft-surface trails? Opponents say e-bikes on trails go too fast and cause more erosion than traditional mountain bikes. Neither of those claims describes Class 1 e-bikes, with a maximum speed of 20 mph that causes no more erosion than a conventional mountain bike.

Pueblo County to the south and Douglas County to the north both allow e-bikes on their soft-surface trails. Are they hearing complaints? Having problems? Their parks personnel say no.

The city of Colorado Springs is completing a survey to measure attitudes about e-bikes on trails. The city of Fort Collins is now surveying residents regarding all kinds of micro-mobility devices: scooters, e-bikes, electric skateboards, etc. Their park rangers tell them “everything is everywhere and we’ve given up!”

In the hope of coming up with a policy that works for everyone, Fort Collins has started a program called Wheels Go Where. The policy includes human-powered vehicles such as Class 1 e-bikes and lightweight electric vehicles that weigh 100 pounds or less and travel at 20 mph or less, like scooters.

When the earliest version of the bike was created 206 years ago, it was revolutionary and not easy to ride. It would take decades to come up with a bike resembling what we ride today.

We can’t imagine what will be created 10, 20 or 30 years from now. We just know something will come along, angering some and delighting others.

Before you decide if you are for or against Class 1 e-bikes, I have two requests: Try riding one and, secondly, observe who is riding e-bikes on our trails. Many are older riders who tell me e-bikes are the reason they are still in the saddle. Our trails were created with public dollars and thus should be available to all users regardless of age and ability. So it’s time to follow the example of neighboring counties that allow e-bikes on their trails.

That will require amending language in the 1997 ordinance that created the Colorado Springs Trails, Open Space, Parks (TOPS) program and tax.

I’m guessing some early bicyclists weren’t thrilled about having to share the roads with the first cars, but it was inevitable. Sharing trails with e-bikes is the right thing to do.

Davies is the executive director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition.