AURORA —Triathletes in the south metro area are lamenting an Arapahoe County road closure decision that has contributed to the cancellation of at least two triathlons at Aurora Reservoirthis year.

Following through on a vote cast by the County Commissioners in 2014, Arapahoe County this year will no longer allow bike races on a portion of East Quincy Avenue that had long hosted the cycling portion of triathlons held at the reservoir at 5800 S. Powhaton Road.

“The impacts were getting too great,” Commissioner Rod Bockenfeld said. “As the population has grown, the inconvenience of these races has become greater and greater and the complaints from citizens have increased.”

The news was no surprise, but after plans for an alternate bike course contained within the reservoir property were denied because it passed too closely to the water treatment facility there, Racing Underground Events and Timing announced that two events it typically holds at Aurora Reservoir will not happen in 2016. A post on the company’s website announcing the news said the county’s decision about Quincy is “effectively ending the era of triathlons at Aurora Reservoir.”

Darrin Eisman, who owns Racing Underground with his wife, Jill, said his company had been putting on the My Way or the Tri Way and the Crescent Moon triathlons at Aurora Reservoir for more than a decade each. Both events usually sold out their 500 to 550 spots every year. He said once the alternative bike route was rejected in October, it was too late to find an alternative venue this year.

“Triathletes like to plan their seasons early,” Eisman said. “I am confident we will find a new location in 2017.”

Eisman said he spent about $5,000 per race for advance notice signs on Quincy and other advertisements about the road closure, which he said never extended beyond three or four hours on any given day. With at least 12.4 miles of bike course needed for even the shortest triathlon event, Eisman doesn’t see how Aurora Reservoir can host another event like his with the current rules in place.

Sherri-Jo Stowell is spokeswoman for Aurora’s parks and recreation department, which manages use at the reservoir. She said the reservoir hosted four triathlons in 2015, including Eisman’s two. None have been permitted for 2016, though this year’s window just opened. She said Aurora welcomes triathlons at the reservoir because they help showcase one of the city’s beautiful natural areas, and she is committed to working with race organizers to find options within the rules that allow events to continue there.

Arapahoe County assistant traffic engineer Jennifer Cook said the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear no bike races may occur on East Quincy without a road closure. She said in recent years, the county had limited the number of closures to five per year, but that became too burdensome. She said the typical detour route when the county closed Quincy between Powhaton Road to Watkins Road for races was to use East Jewell Avenue, an 8-10 mile reroute. In 2014, however, Jewell was temporarily closed for a bridge replacement, forcing the county to detour people to Interstate 70, a much longer drive.

“A lot of residents who live east of Watkins really view (Quincy) as their lifeline,” she said, noting the road carries an average of 5,500 individual car trips per day.

Count Erin Trail among those upset by the new rules. The Parker resident is president of the south metro area amateur Altitude Multisport Club. She said Aurora Reservoir falling off the triathlon map wiped out ⅓ of the events on the club’s schedule this year, causing many of its more than 70 members to consider more expensive options at Boulder Reservoir or even out of state. She said Aurora Reservoir was the perfect venue for south metro athletes.

“I fail to understand exactly what the inconvenience is. We never see residential traffic out there. It seems like a small sacrifice to shut down one road for a couple hours one morning, a couple of days a year,” she said. “Colorado is the triathlon capitol of the world and here we are cutting races.”

Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953 or jrubino@denverpost.com

