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Northern Beaches Trail Advocacy
Post public meeting with NPA chat
Let's keep this civil! We dont want to insult any of the speakers or comments from tonight..
but..
Here is a chance for us to debrief on tonights NPA meeting. Firstly I think it was great to see so many MTB supporters, and to hear from our local government representatives and Mike. Like I said at the start of Question time we are all on the same page (Mostly).
FAQs regarding bike track temporary closure
Just got this, no doubt lots of others will get one of these in the email shortly too.
Manly Warringah War Memorial Park
FAQs regarding bike track temporary closure
Monday 22 February 2010
What is happening?
It has come to Warringah Council's attention that parts of the shared track around Manly Dam are not technically approved for bike riding and as such, Council had no choice but to close those stretches of track to riders until the Plan of Management has reviewed bike riding in the park.
MANLY DAM - COUNCIL CONCERNS SAFETY - WHAT A JOKE
The following email sent to Council.
Hello unfortunate person who has to cop my verbals,
I love my mountain bike riding and consider it away to unstess and not have to worry about
the crazy motorists who have no consideration for bikers that use the road, hence why I only stick to trails.
Secret Mountain Bikers' Business - a Call for Volunteers
We need a large number of volunteers for a secret and important task that will lift our chances of success in getting Council to remove this ridiculous ban.
I can't tell you what it is on here (I'd have to kill you - messy), but it will not be dangerous nor illegal. It DOES require you to (a) be discreet and (b) keep your commitments so that you don't leave the other volunteers in the lurch.
It's best if you live near the Dam, but assistance from further afield is very welcome. It will require an hour or two of your time and the task will occur over a couple of weekends in March.
So different across the Tasman!
I got a call from a Kiwi mate last night and his recent experience with bureaucrats on MTB'ing is the complete antithesis of what we're battling.
The below links are to the govt planned $50m NZ cycle trail plan and my mates proposal which has just got the ok from govt for millions of dollars of funding. Yes that's right not only is the govt interacting with cycle groups, they're championing it and even happy to fund the trails!!
Local trails are dropping like flies....
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...
[Mod. in our calendar: Public meeting with NPA]
THE FUTURE of mountain biking at Narrabeen Lagoon will be debated at a public forum on Monday, February 22.
Hosted by the Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment, the forum follows the recent banning of bike riding from single-track sections of Manly Dam, the last legal ones of their kind in Sydney.
Help required for Council run Skills Workshop North Shore Sydney
Not sure this is the right section but here goes...(mods please move if need be)
As some of you may be aware a few of us have been campaigning to get a pump track/ skills track built up on the lower North Shore of Sydney.
we have had succesful interaction and very positive meetings with the council committee and they have recently expressed an interest in holding a "off road/ Mountain Biking skills workshop" at the new facility when it is built. They already do this for Road Cyclists, so this is their first venture into off road cycling (which is great news)
Todays Paper - Hart backs biking ban
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...
WARRINGAH Council general manager Rik Hart has stood by the decision to ban bike riding in sections of Manly Dam, despite a severe public backlash.
Angry mountain bike riders have bombarded Warringah councillors and Manly State MP Mike Baird with emails and phone calls in protest since the ban went in place last week.
A protest ride has also been organised for March 6 with more than already 150 people signed up.
Banning other groups is not the answer
And the saga (or is that farce - make your own mind up) continues...
It came to my attention last night that the Mayor's solution to the current Manly Dam debarcle is to ban walkers from the mountain bike track. See his release below[1]. This is not a good idea though, as I explained in a mail (this was sent to all the elected officials early yesterday evening):
Dear elected officials,
While you might think from a cycling advocacy point of view this would be good news, my heart sank when I saw this release.
Dam closure - timing
One of the many things that bothers me about the dam closure is the timeframe in which events unfolded.
Councillor Laugesen (whom I recognise has demonstrated a willingness to engage in constructive dialogue on the subject) indicates that the Council first became aware of the issue with the Plan of Management at the meeting on 9 February 2010. As I understand it, the Council maintains that the legal position was investigated after that, and so, presumably, the decision to close the track must have been reached sometime between 10 and 12 February.