You are hereForums / By Discipline / Mountain (off road) / By Location / Australia / NSW / Northern Beaches / Northern Beaches Trail Advocacy / Mike Baird, MP - Mountain Bike Park Access
Mike Baird, MP - Mountain Bike Park Access
Manly MP Mike Baird brought up the issue of trail access in state Parliament yesterday. This is very good for trail advocacy work and I'd like to publicly thank him for taking an interest in our sport and plight.
Below is the transcript of what was said, taken from http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/h...
This is also available on the member's website here: http://www.mikebaird.com.au/interactive/speeches...
There is a press release here with a comments form to complete if you'd like to show Mr Baird your gratitude directly on his site too. All too often people moan at the bad and don't congratulate the good so it's very worthwhile showing support for this action:
http://www.mikebaird.com.au/interactive/news/acc...
Here's hoping something good can come of this.
MOUNTAIN BIKE PARK ACCESS
Mr MIKE BAIRD (Manly) [6.20 p.m.]: There is concern within my electorate that a favourite and growing recreational sport, mountain bike riding, is under threat on the northern beaches. At issue are the apparent moves by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to restrict access to riding tracks. I have received reports of bars and locked gates being replaced across tracks. My concern is that we should be promoting people getting out and enjoying the environment, not barring them, particularly during this time of increasing obesity in Australia. It is a popular sport and has enormous potential to bring people together in our community but, once more, we appear to have government action without appropriate consultation.
Concerns regarding access to the bike tracks have been raised by people involved in the Northern Beaches Mountain Biking Group, who have put together an Oxford Falls plan of management, which is outstanding—the research, the objectivity, the presentation and the argument are first-class. The group is a web-based community group with a membership of around 1,600. They are passionate about their sport and want to retain access to key riding tracks that they previously have been able to use. These tracks are in the Oxford Falls area and the Bantry Bay loop track opposite Manly dam.
A number of members of the group contacted my office and confirmed that fences and bars have been placed across tracks, restricting access for bike riders. I take issue with the fact that this was done without consultation. Officially, mountain biking is only permitted on fire trails in national parks. The biking group claims that this is not practical as trails are suitable as an introductory level but do not create the challenge that more advanced riders seek. There had been an informal arrangement that still allowed people to bike in these alternative areas, but it appears that this arrangement is at an end. There are concerns that there is a new direction at the National Parks and Wildlife Service to keep the bikes out, but there has been no consultation, which should happen as a priority. This is happening not just on the northern beaches but across the State.
I understand that people have concerns that bike riders will damage the environment, and I share those concerns passionately. We want to protect and preserve our environment at every possible opportunity and if informal tracks are allowed with bikes going everywhere damage to the environment may occur. Cathy Griffin from the local Greens council told me she has reservations about the mountain bikes with the damage they cause, the potential conflict with walkers and the cost of maintenance of independent trails, but she said that if there were independent trails and there were plans to deal with these concerns she would be open to accepting them. That is a key environmental position.
Bike riders also are interested in protecting the environment. They are not four-wheel-drive vehicles ripping through the bush—and, ironically, four-wheel-drive vehicles can still go through these fire track areas. Bikes require a single track, which would have a minimal impact, and that should be agreed amongst the group if there was a formal consultation process. Designating an official track would minimise the number of bikers heading off through the bush with no controls. I am sure all reasonable groups would agree not to go informally through the bush but to use the dedicated trails. Walkers too would be aware of these dedicated trails.
We need to encourage people to get outside and exercise, not discourage them. We have a problem on the northern beaches with regard to young people and alcohol. If we are going to change the somewhat negative behaviour of young people we need to support them in activities that are healthy. A survey by Warringah Council, which is included in the group's Oxford Falls submission, showed that 47 per cent of mountain bike riders are under the age of 35. We seem to be ignoring the concerns and the interest of our youth in this particular activity. It is important that young bike riders who do not have independent transport access can still participate in the sport by riding locally. It is not practical for many people to have to travel to the Blue Mountains to ride when there is fantastic bushland and tracks in a breathtaking environment in their own neighbourhood.
As surfing is very much a part of that culture of the northern beaches, mountain biking could also become a significant recreational pastime. Already the biking groups claim it is the third most popular sport in the area after walking and swimming. One hundred and fifty people are employed in specialist bikes stores on the northern beaches. Of the 1.2 million bikes sold annually in Australia, 70 per cent are now mountain bikes. We should use this increased popularity to generate business and tourism. We should be working with these people to create tracks that bring people to the northern beaches and, in consultation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, provide an opportunity to promote these areas by providing people with access to them.
As an example, the Stromlo Forest Park in the Australian Capital Territory recently held the world's largest 24-hour mountain bike race and a round of the World Cup in 2008, and it will hold the world bike championship this year with an expected 40,000 spectators. The Government has said it is committed to increasing the number of people who visit our national parks and it is working with interested stakeholders to develop opportunities for low-impact nature tourism. The Government should be consulting directly with these groups. We should work together to find a solution that enables bikers to still have access to these areas whilst ensuring, most importantly, that the bushland is protected. The group has already made a submission and I am seeking a meeting with the Minister for Climate Change and Environment and the Northern Beaches Mountain Biking Group to discuss this issue further. I ask the Government to consider protecting the environment and providing an opportunity for this group and other groups to access the environment in an environmentally friendly way.
We normally don't encourage cut/paste from websites but given that government information belongs to the people of Australia don't think copyright an issue in this case.
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
That's just awesome.
What ever happened to Nathan Rees's promise to open up access to the catchments areas to MTB?
As herzog said, that is AWESOME!
Don't think there could have been a better response from a MP, Mike Baird - go you good thing!
Lets hope that the other MP's take notice and we can begin to work out a sustainable solution with the correct stakeholders.
Bloody well constructed and political speeches are usually boring as hell
Tom
Well done Mike Baird MP that is real government in action, meeting the needs of local people.
Well done Mike Baird MP that is real government in action, responding to the needs of local people.
You've earned your stripes there mate
Well done Mike Baird and well done Rob
looking forward to coming down for the nobmob return to Bantry Bay ride
Very positive response indeed.
Thanks for pulling out the transcript and posting it for us all to read, I don't think the article in the Manly daily does justice to what was tabled in Parliament.
So, have you heard from the Ministers office yet as to when this meeting will take place?
Great work, it's impressive that your submission has been referred to in Parliament before the report it was submitted to has even been completed. I'm sure that will only help add weight to it's value.
Well done and thanks again
The Old Fart
Robin,
just read blurb from Manly Daily - well done! Love the analogy 'which is like asking a hiker to walk across a football field for fun'
Here here!
Will Levy
Top shelf result. This is only the beginning I would guess but what a beginning it is.
Has the group set out a strategy and roadmap for the next steps? Are you ready to respond when the Oxford Falls submission moves to the next step? It would be interesting to hear whats in the pipeline and the troops that have been rallied in readiness.
Shame the Norther Beaches hospital site is not a little bigger, as no hospital seems likely on the site for some time it might have been an ideal area to develop as a dedicated MTB site. There would be opportunity to show what can be done and how it would be managed to set a benchmark or model for future initiatives and govt involvement on the Northern Beaches and further abroad. And if an event were staged, the popularity of MTB and economic benefits to the local community would be made very obvious.
Craig
You are both sick to the power of rad. Keep up the good work
what is the best way to contact Mike Baird? i want to thank him personally..
we should move towards getting local council and national parks contracting world trails to do a sustainable trail audit/scout in the local area taking into account the need for all disciplines of riding dh/fr/xc/dj/ and so on.
Personally i think the area from monavale road to narrabeen lake and accross to red hill would be a great starting point.
Hornsby and glenrock have shown the way, all we have to do is follow in their footprints.National parks have from what i understand been hired at glenrock to build trails, and hornsby to do preliminary trail scout.
Talk to the hornsby mountain bike aliance, im sure they would love to share tips.
Top job rob
Another point I think is important for this type of advocacy work.
Use the term "cycling" whereever possible, and avoid terms like trail riding, enduro, bicycle motorcross, freeride, dirtjump etc.
To the layperson these terms all have motorbike connotations, and politicians aren't interested in the distinctions between the genres. We have to distance the sport from these motorbike connotations at all costs.
Although daggy, the terms cycling and bicycling are media-friendly, and have clean, green connotations that politicians are comfortable associating themselves with.
We know that mountain biking is a low impact, clean and green way to enjoy our national parks, and we need to get this message across in the most politician friendly way.
What more can you say ?
Huge thanks to Mike Baird MP for bring this into the public arena and Parliament.
Well done Rob.
Impressive escalation of this issue - It looks like we might now be getting somewhere.
Although given that some of the paragraphs in the parliamentary minutes sound mighty familiar....I'm not sure whose copy/pasting from who.
I'm happy to help out further with any follow up that might arise.
Also great work on the Manly Daily article.
Cheers,
Evan
Rob
Thats awesome news getting that sort of exposure in government!
Good on Mike and those who have contacted him to raise further issues.
Happy to help out again on any follow up.
Lets get out for a ride soon now we are both getting back on the bikes.
Simon
I notice the feed back box is getting the odd negative response from "bushwalkers" and even horseriders. Riders really need to put fingertips to key boards and show appreciation
http://www.mikebaird.com.au/interactive/news/acc...
Did it this morning
I suggest that any comments in response to bush walkers and horse riders maintain a positive spin.
Many of their comments have been negative, we should stay above this.
Any acknowledgement of their comments should be used to demonstrate the need for designated trails that are signed and managed that cater for the needs of each trail user group.
That way all user groups can win from this much needed discussion at government level.
Because watering down or being vague about what we are asking for does no one any favours.
As an example look at the result of the Warringah council 'Multiple Use Trails Strategy' review. Despite 114 positive submissions, the end result was to endeavor to put up signage, print some maps and say that the existing management trails are suitable. Overall, a less than ideal result for mountain biking but apparently reflective of (councils interpretation of) the submission comments.
http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/council_then/doc...
In the current situation, we gained the respect of the member for Manly by presenting a document which is (in his words - and on public record) "outstanding—the research, the objectivity, the presentation and the argument are first-class".
In writing the response, the intent wasn't to produce an advocate/lobbyists document (these are a dime a dozen, usually based on one-sided arguments and lack political credibility) but an objective, advisor/consultant style presentation of mountain bike trail access issues on the northern beaches to aid decision making, inform how the issues can be managed and earn respect for the mountain biking community.
I'm sure that everyone here would rather ride bikes than lobby, myself included, so the Oxy PoM submisson was aimed at informing policy changes at higher levels of land managers (Dept of Lands/NPWS/ALC). More or less presenting a first draft risk assessment and management plan for their consideration.
Therefore the document intentionally presents mountain biking in all it's freeriding/dirtjumping/enduro racing glory - because that's what contemporary mountain biking is all about and that's what needs to be managed. Once everyone knows what the issues are and how to address them, we can all ride more and lobby less.
It's important to make a clear distinction to policy makers between vegan-inner-city-commuters/lycra-clad-roadies/recreational-family-friendly-bike-path types (which most people would associate with the term 'cyclists') and 'mountain bikers'.
It is only when this distinction is understood that we can expect policies (and therefore facilities) that recognise the unique needs of mountain biking as opposed to what the lay person might think of when presented with a request for improved 'cycling facilities'. That is, by relying on the term 'cycling' you run the risk of asking for a Narrabeen Lakes cycle path when you're really after a Whistler A-line.
Having gained credibility on the basis of being objective, well researched and well presented the most important thing is to remain objective, well researched and well presented. This includes being transparent about what we are asking for and confident in presenting the issues surrounding our sport.
These issues are manageable and this has been proven in both an Australian and international context. Therefore, we have no reason to try to obscure what is needed.
Liability, user interaction concerns? - look into how it's done at Stromlo, Olympic Park (4X/BMX) or any of the numerous council owned BMX tracks/skate parks (between them these include gaps, drops, jumps, crowds, step ups, step downs and maybe even the odd bit of woodwork)
Environmental or National Parks issues? - refer to the assessments done for Thredbo, The Oaks singletrack, Glenrock, You Yangs, all over NZ.
The point is that it has all been done before and if you look objectively at the actual data from these examples, all forms of mountain biking are comparitively low risk and low environmental impact when managed properly.
Therefore, as this is primarially a management issue, good decisions can only be made once the opportunities, risks and controls are well defined and the activity is well understood by all involved - especially the policy makers.
In my opinion the greater risk for us is in going too far to censor what we think will be palatable to decision makers and in the process ask for (and get) something that we don't actually want.
If we do this, we get a b-grade trail we don't use, gov't spends money on a trail that doesn't get used, MP's who backed you look foolish, we look foolish because we said there were 10,000 people who would use it, no one is likely to stick their neck out for us again, and there's even more resistance and delay in getting what we actually need.
That said, we do need to be reasonable in what we ask for.
Apologies for the long rant - just my two cents.
Rob, we can't thank you enough for the effort you are putting in here on our behalf.
It's great that the management plan you put forward was so well received, and hopefully NPWS will now take notice.
Regarding your report; its interesting to note there there are roughly the same ammount of mountainbike riders as there are golfers. How many golf courses are there on the Northern Beaches? i think i can count about 13 from memory!
Once again, a huge thank you from myself and from every visitor and mate i've impressed by taking them riding at Oxford Falls! ;-D
Simon A.
Mountainbike. Because it's there.
Minister might take place? If it's a day when I don't have the boy I am more than happy to come along and help out, just let me know.
as a thought it might be worthwhile chasing Carmel Tebbut, I believe she is further up the food chain than Mr Baird, and maybe of even greater help.
The Old Fart
While we are at it...
We're not allowed to ride bikes in Catchment land, despite it being an extremely low impact activity.
Yet they are about to allow MINING. What's wrong with these people?
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2009/06/09/1...
Date: June 10 2009
Ben Cubby Environment Reporter
SYDNEY'S drinking water supply in and around the historic Cataract Dam is about to be undercut by multistorey longwall coal mines, in a case that will test the NSW Government's willingness to apply its own environmental guidelines.
Packed beneath the pristine reservoir, near Appin, lie tens of millions of tonnes of high-quality coking coal, greatly desired by the Indian steel industry.
is getting 2.3M... I can see the widespread appeal of this to the greater community?
My gran is getting a new skateboard for her birthday and says she is sick of running into mountian bikers while out walking so the skate park should be tops. (Actually no discredit, kids need activities too)
I think a budget for cycling and other broad reaching activities would not go astray. Lobby Lobby Lobby
They have been mining in Sydney catchment for almost 200 years..
Check out the head waters of the Coxes river. there are coal mines, power stations, sewerage treatment plants and miles of farm run off before it ever enters the restricted zone.
All arguments in favour of us being entitled to ride in catchment land.