No bike trail in Bantry Bay say residents - Manly Daily

Her comments on aggressive behaviour are way out of line. She has no evidence to support this damaging claim and should be ashamed. Every time I encounter walkers I always slow down and show respect. She forgets to mention that many walkers actually walk around the sections of Manly Dam that are strictly for cyclists only. Do we run to the local MP and complain??

As for 540 signatures that may at first sound like strong support from the community to block a bike trail but I'd like to see what suburbs the signatures came from and it's worth considering that 540 signatures in a large metropolitan area is not all that many. Maybe we should counter her petition with signatures of those in support of bike trails?

Also, she really needs to do her homework on the effects that cycling has on bush land. Wake Hurst Parkway poses much more danger to native wildlife. Also, I'd put a wager on it that walking in the bush causes just as much disturbance as MTBing. Which I don't have any evidence or research to support my claim but I reckon it's next to nothing as long as everyone respects the land and doesn't litter or stray from the trails.

Then there' s the increasing obesity issue that unless facilities like these are available will only worsen. Free health and recreation services are hard to come by these days so kids who don't have rich parents are often disadvantaged.

I'm miffed about this

If the form fails, send to [email protected].

Here's what I sent:

Dear Editor,

Subject: Mountain Bikers Frustrated by NIMBY Deceit

It has been disappointing to read the same old innuendo and misinformation regarding mountain bike trails in your article http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/... concerning Rosemary Loughnane’s petition. It is not surprising that she has gained 540 signatures: in the absence of the facts, I would have signed it too.

All this petition really reflects is that the local community concurs with the off-road cycling community: we too want unsustainable trails closed, and replaced with something that meets worlds-best-practice standards for sustainability.

Rather than dealing with concrete issues she proceeds from the assumption that mountain bike trails can never be built or used in a sustainable manner. The fallacy in that position should be self-evident. The evidence from other places where cycling occurs in Australian National Parks, such as Glenrock, Thredbo, and other locations in New Zealand and worldwide certainly contradicts it.

I suggest you should examine the current poor state and standard of construction of the walking tracks Ms Loughnane and her cohorts use, and the erosion and environmental degradation they are causing. It will provide an interesting contrast with the superior standard and approach being used for the proposed bike trails.

We find it enormously frustrating that yet again the Not In My Back Yarders come out with this emotive bile in an attempt to politically subvert the due diligence process that has been running for more than three years.

It happened in Ku Ring Gai where an anonymous circular accused mountain bikers of being drug-using, graffiti-vandal hoons who would make horrendous amounts of noise and disrupt the peace and quiet of their community with some kind of stadium of “world renown” – twisting the commitment to using worlds-best-practice into something poisonous. Due to the political noise, the scope of the projected trails were significantly curtailed.

However, since the implementation, the reality couldn’t be more starkly different. We have since received apologies from some KMC Councillors for letting themselves get hoodwinked.

The same misinformation campaign is being perpetrated here by Ms Loughnane. We are accused of being “aggressive”.

She raises the spectre of “organised events”. Residents should be be assured the venue does not meet requirements for holding organised events in any way, and NPWS is therefore never going to permit them.

Due to the requirements of the activity, mountain bike lights are narrow beamed and focussed closely on the trail, which suggests the scope for disturbance of nocturnal fauna is therefore quite limited. The noise, lights and horrendous roadkill on Wakehurst Parkway has many times more impact.

It seems from this article and her comments recorded elsewhere that her real agenda is to prevent an increase in people visiting National Parks.

NPWS understands clearly that unless people visit and have an emotional stake in National Parks, their continuation over the long term in the face of threats like development pressures and budget de-prioritisation will be in doubt.

These days, the largest volume of visitors to the bush around Sydney do so on the saddle of a bike. It therefore makes robust common sense for NPWS to deal positively with the new generation of potential environmental champions, instead of shutting them out.

Since taking up mountain biking, not only has my appreciation of environmental values changed dramatically, the pleasure I gain from the ride has increased as I have gained a deeper understanding of the natural environment.

The degraded trails must be closed and rehabilitated to prevent continued damage. New trails meeting IMBA sustainability standards are needed, to be routed around areas of high environmental and cultural sensitivity.

This is exactly what the NPWS proposes to do, and which the mountain bike community strongly supports.
I would encourage anyone who feels they have been hoodwinked by Ms Loughnane into signing this petition on false pretenses to write to Brad Hazzard to express their view.

Best,
Name address and phone number supplied.

The author of the manlydaily piece can be emailed here
[email protected]

KEEP IT CIVIL GUYS...

There was a Near Miss recorded when a cyclist got out of shape and came off near some volunteer bush regen folks a couple of years ago.

That's it, one "incident" only so far as I'm aware and nothing else for over 15 years.

I asgree that it's imperative to stick to the issues and keep it civil. The journos don't have a dog in the fight and we MUST retain the moral high ground.

It's not hard to get signatures when you use a flyer like this one that was used here in the lower Blue Mountains.

http://bmorc.com/node/17785

A counter-petition wll take too long.

Send your emails to Brad Hazzard, Planning Minister [email protected], as he is the minister with approval authority.

Keep it polite and retain the high moral ground. We support the evidence based due-diligence process the NPWS is following.

More info on the BS this woman is peddling here: http://www.trailcare.com.au/files/pdf/oxo_penins...

List of issues to hit here:
http://nobmob.com/node/35635#comment-112790