Category: Pikes Peak Bulletin

Greetings from Pedestrian and Cycle Manitou (PaCMan)! This month, we’d like to introduce you to Manitou Springs resident Karyna Aguirre. Karyna and her family use active transportation daily to walk to/from school and to complete errands in town. Speaking of walking to school, PaCMan supports safe routes to school and activities that encourage more families to try walking/rolling as transportation. This includes national walk/roll/bike to school events each spring and fall. These types of experiences also encourage year-round bike and walking buses for kids which is a growing movement across the world. A bike/walk bus involves a leader, i.e. the bike/walk “driver,” following a planned route with other participants joining along the route. The group continues together to its destination.  Bike and walking buses are a type of shared transportation that not only makes the school run more sustainably but also helps to decrease vehicular emissions and traffic congestion, and creates a community of young riders. Evan Johnson at Manitou Middle School thinks more students will walk and bike to school when they know more about the benefits. “Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good and releases chemicals in the brain that make focusing and learning easier.  Walking or biking with one or two friends is a great way to start and end your school day. Once you get into this routine and notice how good you feel, you’ll find yourself choosing active transportation more often.”  If you are interested in starting a biking or walking bus in Manitou, please email pacmanitou@yahoo.com.

How long have you been living in Manitou Springs and why did you choose to live here?

My family and I have been living in Manitou Springs since 2015. I like this small town for its location and walkability to many amenities such as the library, school, a post office, parks, trails, public transit, etc.

What are the pros/cons of walking to school and around Manitou?

Pros: Not only me and my family can enjoy the beauty of nature surrounding us, but we also get our daily amount of fresh air, vitamin D (sunlight) and exercise by walking to/from school every day. In addition, with the proximity of things I can complete most errands without having a car.

Cons: Sometimes there is no choice but to walk on a road. That puts us–pedestrians, at a high risk of being hit by a motorist.

What infrastructure and/or esthetic improvement would have the most positive impact on your walking to school and rolling experiences in Manitou?

Having more raised sidewalks and bike lanes would make me feel much safer while walking with my children to/from school.

What advice would you give someone who would like to give active transportation in Manitou a try?

Think of how much good we can do to our health and the environment by prioritizing walking and/or biking over driving. Just give it a try!

What do you think would increase more walking, rolling, and public transit use in Manitou?

I think creating safer routes for walking and biking in Manitou Springs would make a difference.

What other form(s) of transportation do you use and what has that experience been like? Please tell us about your e-Bike experiences and if you were able to apply for and utilize an e-Bike voucher to make the purchase?

Growing up in Eastern Europe public transportation was a part of my daily life. Sometimes when I feel nostalgic for it, I use a bus. I think it’s great. Also, because of many steep hills, I had not been too keen on bicycling in Manitou Springs. Receiving a Colorado State e-Bike voucher made it possible for me to have more enjoyable rides. Plus, I can pull one of my children in a trailer behind me with ease.

Greetings from Pedestrian and Cycle Manitou (PaCMan)! Did you know that active transportation helps the environment, mitigates traffic congestion, and boosts both mental and physical health? More and more PaCMan is discovering that people ARE visiting Manitou Springs from the seat of a bicycle, on foot, by bus, and modalities outside of cars. One such person is Ted Sloan who frequents Manitou weekly in search of his favorite hiking locales and coffee shops. We hope that you also find inspiration from his words and choose to replace one car errand weekly with walking, rolling, or public transportation. Together, we can make a difference towards helping the planet, mitigating poor air quality and traffic congestion while boosting our quality of life.  

How long have you been using active transportation to visit Manitou Springs? 

I sold my car in 2003 and have been mostly riding my bicycle for transportation since then.

How often do you visit Manitou? 

A couple of times a week, either for coffee before work or beer after, or to go hiking.

Can you also tell us how you get to work using active transportation and how often? 

I ride to work at Old Town Bike Shop five days a week unless it’s extremely icy. 

If you have ever received a state ebike voucher or other assistance purchasing an ebike? If so, how has that benefited your quality of life in Colorado? 

I have not but, at Old Town Bike Shop where I work, we have set up a lot of folks with state and local rebates. It has reduced the price barrier enough for a lot of folks that they can get a reliable ebike and leave their car in the driveway and that’s a good thing.

What are the pros/cons of walking/rolling/cycling/taking shuttles or buses to get to Manitou?    

I think that there are lots of pros to cycling. It’s good exercise, it doesn’t contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, it puts me in a better mood. I don’t often take the bus or walk. I suppose some cons are that it’s slower, and you’re out in the weather if you’re cycling.

What infrastructure and/or esthetic improvement would have the most positive impact on your cycling experiences in Manitou?  

I think separated bike lanes and paths are always a good addition. Manitou has a good amount of bike lanes and sharrows on routes already. Generally, things that reduce car use like restricted/paid parking I’m all for. I always liked the idea of a pedestrian mall type area, but I’m not really sure what that would look like.

What advice would you give someone who would like to give active transportation to and around Manitou a try but does not have much time?  

Start small. You don’t have to cycle to work every day or to get all your groceries. Get lunch or meet a friend for coffee. If you’re commuting by bike, try it out on your day off and take your time so you’ll know how long it will take even if you’re tired.

What do you think would increase more active transportation and transit use in Manitou?  

I think things like this interview might help. Getting people to see that people are using active transportation and it’s not really difficult and in lots of ways better than taking a car. Generally, things that make it more convenient to use active transportation like regular shuttle schedules and bike parking at businesses would help.

What other form(s) of transportation do you use and what has that experience been like? 

My partner has a car that I sometimes drive, and in busy traffic I find it much more stressful. I do use public transportation from time to time, it takes a bit of figuring out the routes and schedules. In Colorado Springs I find it entails a lot of waiting.

Is there anything else you’d like to add that might help inspire others to give active transportation a try? 

Active transportation like cycling and walking moves on a more human pace and scale. Get some place by biking or walking, you’ll feel better when you get there. 

Greetings from PaCMan! To PaCMan is to Pedestrian and Cycle Manitou. Perhaps no one in our community does just that—walking and taking transit that is, more than Craig Burbank. We interviewed Craig during the pandemic back in 2020 about his ultra-walking exploits and thought a check-in was long overdue. We caught up with him recently at the MAC community space for a chat. Have an active transportation story to share with the community? Reach out to @pacmanitou to direct message us.

How long have you been living in Manitou Springs and why did you choose to live here?

I moved to Manitou in March 2017 after retiring from Walmart where I used to work and live in the Woodland Park area. Since I am an ultra-endurance athlete, I love the close proximity to trail’s, mountain hikes, and access to transit and other shuttle services such as Rocky Mountain Ride—which is a great way to get back to Manitou after hiking Pikes Peak.

It’s worth noting that I’ve been living car-free now for over 31 years after giving up my car back in August 1993. I also credit my good health to an active lifestyle and am fortunate to have the time to spend time in our great outdoors and fresh Colorado air. Interestingly enough, in Sept 2024, AAA posted that the average cost of new car ownership costs someone in the U.S. $12,297 annually. I largely credit my good health and youthful appearance to an active lifestyle (in my early 70’s).

What are the pros/cons of walking and taking the bus in Manitou?

Time management is required and some planning as well. I often grocery shop about 4-5 times a week, which also accounts for a portion of my training. Most of my errands are for groceries where I prefer to walk to places approximately 8 miles away such as Costco and Trader Joe’s where I can find good deals. I use a mid-sized backpack to make these journeys and find that carrying an extra small tote bag also helps to pack most groceries home. I also use Mountain Metro Transit (MMT) routes #3 and #19 mostly for the return trip.

Planning also includes figuring out if a monthly bus pass vs. a punch card, where you still need transfer slips, is more feasible. For me, a monthly bus pass saves me money and time since I skip the need for transfer slips which takes time when onboarding.

Another part of the planning process is figuring out which bus route(s) to use. I suggest looking up the MMT system map which shows you which routes overlap.

It would be nice to have signalized pedestrian crossings where the timing prioritized pedestrians. Many times, I must wait for one or even two light cycles before I can cross at an intersection. This is largely the case when walking/training in Colorado Springs where the poor timing at signalized intersections add time to my training efforts. I now mainly focus training expeditions in Woodland Park where there are fewer signalized crossings and good shuttle service such as the Rambling Express where I can catch a ride home if the weather goes south.

The pros include getting some training time in while walking errands, which keeps me fit. I’ve also been lucky to see many moonlit hikes, sunrises, mountain lions, and other otherwise stealthy wildlife sightings during my excursions on foot.

What infrastructure and/or esthetic improvement would have the most positive impact on your walking and transit experiences in Manitou? 

Having benches at bus stops is nice, but having weather-protected bus shelters would be a huge improvement. Most bus headways are not brief, so having a proper shelter to protect people from the elements would be great. Many times, bus users who are elderly have physical challenges and are waiting in hot or inclement weather, to include wind chill is hardship and proper shelters would help to keep people comfortable while waiting for the bus.

Making signalized pedestrian crossings that activate sooner at intersections would help elevate the experience outside of cars. Woodland Park has good, signalized pedestrian crossing timing when you push the button.

Bus Rapid Transit service would also be nice for the more heavily used routes.

What advice would you give someone who would like to give active transportation in Manitou a try but does not have much time?

Half of the challenge is figuring out the bus system and which buses to take. Go online for the most current system map.

What do you think would increase more active transportation use in Manitou? 

Offering hard copy master bus system maps might help to promote more transit use since it can be intimidating to figure out the bus system.

What other form(s) of transportation do you use and what has that experience been like? 

I also carpool with a friend or neighbor from time to time when it’s convenient. Getting a lift when it’s raining hard, or when the wind gusts are strong makes the journey more pleasant and a bonus is having the opportunity to visit with friends.