MANITOU SPRINGS — A paid reservation system for the Incline is being supported by the Manitou Springs City Council as it works toward reopening the popular site.
The council discussed whether to reopen the Incline at its Tuesday evening meeting and while there is no set reopen date, the city is hoping to move forward with this plan to reopen it "as soon as possible."
"The Incline is an attraction, not just a trail, and it would be irresponsible to open it with no precautions taken, as it would put our visitors, residents, and first responders in a dangerous situation," a release from the city stated.
The Manitou Springs City Council had a few options for the Incline:
- Keeping the Incline closed
- Reopen with COVID-19 guidelines
- Reopen only after new management guidelines are in place.
With the reservation system, the city council says it will "maintain social distancing and not overwhelm the City's infrastructure."
Manitou Springs Mayor John Graham hears plenty of opinions with differing views on the Incline. "Some of them are pretty terse saying just get the thing open, to heck with the virus and so forth. Others who would probably like to never see it open again."
The U.S. Forest Service and the City of Colorado Springs are also stakeholders with the Incline and they have input on how it is managed. Manitou Springs said in a statement that "city staff is looking forward to collaborating and working with the City of Colorado Springs, and the Forest Service to work through the details of how to open in Incline in a way that will preserve the safety of our residents, visitors, and first responders."
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