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Jubes MTB Park bikecare group
I noticed a call for people to join a bikecare group on the Kuringai council website when I was looking around for a way to become involved in maintaining Jubes mountain bike park. I live up the road and it has become a bit of an eyesore and seems very much unloved with lots of weeds, dead turf and badly eroded pump track. So I sent an email to the address they provided and put my hand up.
A few days ago I got a call from one of the council maintenance managers to thank me for volunteering. Not sure if I'm the only one that had responded at that point, but he seemed impressed that someone cared enough to get involved. Anyway, I offered to spread the word as best I can to see if anyone else might want to be part of the bikecare group. When they are ready he will provide me with appropriate contact details to pass on to whomever shows interest in being part of the group.
The council is still putting together some of the equipment that will be accessible to the group for use in maintaining the park. They are also putting in a source of water and whatever else will be needed to perform the work. Although I offered to get stuck in straight away the council officer said not yet. It shouldn't be too long before they are ready to kick off formally.
He also mentioned that they have spent a lot of money trying to keep the surface of the pump track up to par, but it continues to deteriorate rapidly. They seem to want to keep it, but may try resurfacing with something more durable. He didn't mention any planned changes so I assume the rest of the park will be kept as is.
If you live in the area or are keen to get involved then keep an eye on this thread and I'll update it when I have more info. Alternatively, you can go here http://www.kmc.nsw.gov.au/Services_facilities/Fa... and provide them with your details.
[Mod. moved to Sydney (North)]
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Part of the reason this site looks unloved is that it is exactly the situation. It *is* unloved.
It was a great example of how not to do a mtb park: do not properly involve the primary user group stakeholders and ignore their concerns.
The whole situation about killing off the singletrack loop because of some misinformed anonymous scaremongering and panick merchantery was - in my view - an embarassment to Council regarding how they managed the process. It showed a singular lack of backbone by Council and left many of us with a strong sense of disappointment. The result was a facility sized much too small to sustain continued interest.
To think that it could have been so much more...
If they were to re-open the process and start making noises about getting the singletrack in as part of Stage 2, then I have little doubt there would be greater interest.
Compare how poorly Jubes is faring with what is going on at OMV, where they did it right.
I've heard a lot about OMV (and all of it positive)
I (incorrectly it seems) thought Jubes was another name for it
Where's Jubes?
Golden Jubilee Field, Esk St Wahronga.
The biggest problem with it is that no-one knows how to use a pump track, it was marketed by council as a kid friendly bike park and when you put the two together it has become a glorified kiddie BMX track with those little wheels and low to the ground pedals digging up the surface all of the time.
The "flow" track is too short and has unavoidable jumps on it that look more suited to take off ramps on a 'Carrier than a flow track unless you have grown up in a jump park (my opinion only) and they fenced off what was a really nice, all be it short, techy loop around the adjacent ridge. It's a nice place to spend a minute or two on the way past but that's about it.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought OMV and Jubes fell under the same council being so close.
OMV is Hornsby, Jubes is Ku-ring-gai.
I do hope locals in the area get involved regardless how shit it is at the moment and push to bring the planned single track back. Withoit the single track the place is unloved.
I went to Jubes today and there are signs all over it saying it is closed. When I've looked to the KMC website there is nothing saying why it is closed (unless it relates to comments they made in January).
Can anyone shed any light on it? Is it closed? Why? And how long do people expect it to remain closed?
Sorry if I am asking questions that have already been answered, but I couldn't find the information.
Hi Mike,
Good point regarding the closed sign. I raised that with the council maintenance officer that rang me after I volunteered to be part of the bike care group. He said that it is only the pump track that is closed due to erosion. The rest of the park is open.
I said that the sign was not specific enough. While there are people that still use the skills section and the short flow track, many assume that the whole park is closed because the signs only say "Closed". He didn't say anything more about the sign. It is still as misleading as before so I expect that it won't be changed.
As for the pump track, he blamed poor construction. Specifically, an inappropriate choice of surface. I said that I hoped they would keep it as people did use it when it was open. He confirmed that they do intend to keep it. They just need to think about a surface material that doesn't suffer so much from a very harsh environment. It is a tough environment for a dirt structure. No water for months so it turns to grit with use and then months of rain and it washes away. They are meant to be installing a permanent source of water to alleviate this issue to some degree. Still needs someone to maintain it though.
I hope the council sees the benefit of keeping the park properly maintained and I'm happy to do my bit as I literally live just up the road. Ku-rin-gai council are notoriously difficult to work with though. Many builders won't build in the area as its too hard to push through the bureaucracy and council are very precious about their zonings and regulations, etc. First-hand evidence as a local suggests I shouldn't get my hopes up, but maybe everything will turn out OK with regards to Jubes.
In response to Hawkeye's comment about local sabotage and misinformation, I can confirm that that is exactly how it seemed to me at the time. My girlfriend and I hadn't long moved into the area and it was a while before I even thought about buying a bike, but we were approached to join the resistance and vote against Jubes.
I never answered the front door when people came knocking, but Mandy did on one occasion and she walked back inside with a handful of leaflets that preached hell and damnation about mountain biking and the damage it would do to the national park. Never mind the upset it would cause to local's street parking arrangements and access to the sports ovals with the hundreds of people that would descend on our quiet little paradise every weekend! And the noise and traffic. Oh good lord, the traffic!
The official council info said that it was going to be built to world class IMBA standards, which was clearly meant to signal the fact that they wanted to do it properly for the benefit of all users. The scaremongers twisted that around to suggest that world class meant constant large-scale competitions and an unsavoury audience of dubious repute that would create security concerns in the neighbourhood. Nothin' like a hive of WASPs to scare away the riffraff
I thought it was bollocks then and I know that it's bollocks now. I wish I had answered the door back then so I could identify the gormless arseholes that helped ruin Jubes. I've met quite a few decent people in the years we have lived here, but there are some with their heads planted firmly up their arse so I reckon I could pick the ones that might have been involved.
I think the success of OMV has at least prompted Ku-rin-gai council to have a good think about not letting their initial investment in Jubes go to waste. I don't know if they have the balls or foresight to take full advantage of the opportunity to expand it and build what always should have been there. In the meantime I'd settle for the bike care group to get off the ground so I can start swinging a shovel and not risk a hefty fine.
Rant off for now. Time to go to bed. Got meetings in the morning to try to sell stuff and squeeze money out of people so I can afford to keep riding