Province Newspaper

[Spaz]

Check out page A9 in the Province this morning. Michael Roberts has done an article on North Shore and Delta mountain biking.

[TheGiggler]

Mountain biking ban in N. Van parks unfair

Mike Roberts
The Province

Thursday, March 11, 2004

The local mountain-biking community is in an uproar over plans to chase riders out of two Lower Mainland parks.

In North Vancouver District, Coun. Ernie Crist wants the mountain bikers out of district parks.

In a report to council last week, Crist said "there is an inherent and irreconcilable conflict between the sport and the pedestrian use of district parks" and recommended "the relocation of mountain biking away from district parks."

Believe it or not, his draconian proposal is under consideration -- and gaining support.

And while Crist and his cronies were still talking, the parks department in Delta went in with chainsaws blaring and reduced the ramps and rides of Watershed Park to sawdust and scrap. Without a word to the 300 bikers of the Shed Bike Club who built and use the network of trails, parks crews obliterated their specialized stunts.

"It was big-time heavy-handed," fumes Ladner mountain biker Brett Armstrong, a member of the SBC and a regular user of the trails in both Delta and North Vancouver.

Delta says the increased use of Watershed Park by trail riders has forced the issue of liability.

"We're not trying to be ogres about this," parks director Ken Kuntz said earlier this week. "It's just we have now reached a point where we have to deal with it."

Armstrong insists Kuntz should have dealt with it at a sit-down with the mountain-biking community.

"Our biggest beef is the fact they didn't contact us," says Armstrong. "They cut up naturally fallen trees and took out bridges and just tossed everything into a pile by the side of the trail, rusty nails sticking out of the ground, a total hazard."

Armstrong, 10 years biking the local trails, blames a "very, very vocal minority" for the troubles in the hills.

"These are the same people who sabotage the trails," says Armstrong. "Take nails out of boards and put large stones under the jumps to injure people."

The mountain biker is angered by the all-out attack on his sport.

"This Crist guy is ridiculous," he says. "He doesn't have his facts straight. The North Shore of Vancouver is world famous for those trails. It brings a lot of tourist dollars into the area and it made the local mountain bike manufacturers like Rocky Mountain and Banshee."

The Shed Bike Club will continue to meet with Delta. Armstrong hopes to "form an agreement in principle" regarding mountain biking in Watershed Park and rebuild what was so hastily destroyed.

The popularity of mountain biking is not going to let up, and even riders like Armstrong recognize the need for regulation if the sport is to survive in our multi-purpose parks.

But an outright ban and an underhanded trail takeout? That's not playing fair.

mroberts@png.canwest.com

[grashopa]

Good to see we got our point published as well.

[Tool]

wow, usually Mike Robert writes out of his ass:eek:

I guess now i'll give him some credit. It's nice to read that he got a bit of both sides

[Valo]

so let me get this straight, they cut up a bunch of trails, thats fucking ridicoluse

[white ri0t]

Originally posted by Sprinkles
Its stupid, they shouldn't have done that. I don't get what gives them the right to go in there and wreck things people put alot of time and effort into.

I think you should ask your law teacher on that one.

[sAFETY]

I'm sure this isn't the first time it's been pointed out the the dude responsible for the destruction of the watershed trails is named Ken.

[bruiser d]

thanks for giving us the time mike roberts. good job brett.finally a descent article:D