Garden City will have to defend itself in court for its decision to ban bike riding on a 1.5-mile section of Greenbelt.

A trial has been set for Feb. 21, 2012, in a lawsuit filed against Garden City by a group of citizens long frustrated by the city’s bike riding ban on the path between the Boise River and Riverside Village just west of Glenwood Street.

For more than four years the grassroots advocacy group, Citizens for an Open Greenbelt, has asked the city to honor a 1980 agreement calling for a north side bike path.

In 1997, the city designated the Greenbelt section as a walking only path. Cyclists must dismount and walk their bikes along the section. The city says portions of the path are too narrow or too damaged by tree roots to safely accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians.

In November, the group sued the city and the Idaho Land Board in Fourth District Court saying that the state and city have wrongfully limited riders' rights, and that a city ordinance barring riding in that area is unreasonable. The judge dismissed the claim against the state; the claim against Garden City is moving forward.

“Although taking legal action was a last resort, we are gratified that we have three dedicated attorneys, representing us pro bono, to stand up for COG and the interests of the bike riding public,” Gary Segers, spokesman for the group. “COG is resolute in assuring that bike commuters, recreationists, families, and children have the right to ride their bikes on the bike path in Riverside Village.”