COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In a few months, people with physical disabilities will have better access to the city's trails and open spaces.
Tuesday, Colorado Springs had a trial run on two new motorized wheelchairs at Red Rock Canyon Open Space on the west side.
The trackchairs were paid for with a grant and help from the Colorado Springs Office of Accessibility.
The motorized chairs are able to navigate all types of terrain. All users will have to undergo training on how to use them.
The trackchairs won't be available until spring. Reservations will be required through the parks department website.
The trackchairs are meant to function very similarly to the Terrain Hoppers the county invested in back in July of 2022.
One Terrain Hopper is assigned to the Bear Creek Nature Center and the other is located at the Fountain Creek Nature Center.
Each chair is worth close to $25,000. The funding for them came from The Independence Center and the county's facilities department.
Users can control the chair using a throttle. An El Paso County parks staff member or volunteer will go out with the Terrain Hopper user, so they can also control the chair using the throttle.
Reservations can be made at the El Paso County Trailability Program website.