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Warringah Shire Council
6th March Manly Dam "Protest Ride" => "Joy Ride"?
Just wondering, now that the trail has been reopened to MTB's, can this ride be turned into a joy ride?
The Dam will never have seen so many riders going around the trail at the same time!!!
Spread the news in the office
Dunno about anyone else, but there are quite a few cyclists in the office I frequent at the moment.
So I printed out the main jist of the Manly Dam story, a little explanatory text and the council's press release and stuck it up in the bike cage.
While I was doing this two guys asked about it and were horrified. One claimed to never ride an MTB but then when he saw it was Manly Dam said, "Oh yead - I've been there!"
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.
Mike Baird's view on the Manly Dam Issue
Local MP Mike Baird has put out a press release on the Manly Dam fiasco, and shows a level of understanding and commonsense sadly lacking in the council.
I'm thankful of all the support Mike has given, and continues to give to mountain bike riders.
Monday 15 February 2009
KEEP MANLY DAM OPEN FOR MOUNTAIN BIKING
Manly MP Mike Baird has appealed to Warringah Council to show some commonsense and manage the risks rather than ban mountain biking at Manly Dam.
Warringah Council Meeting - Show support with silent protest
Council Chambers, Civic Centre, 725 Pittwater Road, Dee Why (enter Civic Drive)
While the council meeting is obviously still on, there's no need to go from an MTB point of view as Manly Dam is re-open
Council need to be shown immediately what a mistake has been made, and how many riders are effected by the recent Manly Dam trail closure.
As such it would be a very good idea to show up at this meeting for a silent show of support. Speakers are not allowed at this meeting and rowdy, insulant or other petty behavior would not help our cause one bit.
Warringah Council Meeting - Show support with silent protest
Council Chambers, Civic Centre, 725 Pittwater Road, Dee Why (enter Civic Drive)
Council need to be shown immediately what a mistake has been made, and how many riders are effected by the recent Manly Dam trail closure.
As such it would be a very good idea to show up at this meeting for a silent show of support. Speakers are not allowed at this meeting and rowdy, insulant or other petty behavior would not help our cause one bit.
Please wear your riding gear and helmet so council are sure where your allegiance lies.
Extra Warringah Council Meetings Clarified
There has been some confusion about the extraordinary Warringah council meetings coming up but have had these clarified:
February 23: This meeting is only to cover the items that were missed on Feb 9 in their famous, meeting of disarray. The motion to re-instate volunteer maintenance days at Manly Dam is on the agenda, but the recent closure is not.
March 23: In this meeting council will discuss options for the future of riding at Manly Dam (ie. the recent closure).
Given council need to be shown immediately what a mistake has been made, and how many riders are effected, and as others have suggested it would be a very good idea to show up at the Feb 23 meeting for a silent show of support. Speakers are not allowed at this meeting and rowdy, insulant or other petty behavior would not help our cause one bit.
While I would encourage everyone who can to attend both meetings to show support, please only go to these meetings if you know you can control your emotions, bite your tongue, and have the patience of a saint!
Two events in the calendar here:
http://nobmob.com/node/13111
http://nobmob.com/node/13112
The meetings will be held at: Council Chambers, Civic Centre, 725 Pittwater Road, Dee Why (enter Civic Drive) and commence 6pm. More details should appear here:
http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/council_then/meetings_council.aspx
FB: Hands off Manly Dam MTB Trail
Council is wrong: POM misquoted
I reviewed the full Plan of Management quoted in the press release, and found that they have mis-quoted the source document. The Plan gives council the right to designate particular areas accessible by mountain bikes, and the wording does not exclude singletrack.
In other words, they have used a technicality to close the singletrack, but the technicality is WRONG. So unless there is a document I haven't seen, it suggests to me they are compelled to re-open the closed sections.
What follows below is a technical argument - read or glaze over as you will 
:
Bureaucrat's Errors Mean closure for Manly Dam
Update: Want to show support for riding at Manly Dam? Sign up to Manly Dam - Save the date and come along!
Update 17/2: Press coverage of this:
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...
Update 22/2: Warringah Council issue a FAQ "...in response to many letters and emails received..."
Update 24/2: Track will be re-opened to riders but at the expense of walkers. Press coverage here:
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...
I just don't know how to put this, so am going to just get straight to the point:
Manly Warringah Council have decided that due to a bureaucratic error that happened many years ago the single track sections of the Manly Dam circuit have never actually been technically legal riding. As such, instead of turning a blind eye, or deciding to make an extra effort to work around what is their mistake, they are to penalise riders by closing sections of the track.
If you look at the linked map, it's obvious that the circuit is basically unridable given this decision.
They are sighting safety concerns for this, but that is a complete joke as, as far as I'm aware there have been no documented incidents involving riders and another party there. I spoke to the Mayor on Wednesday night who admits this isn't an issue as he is aware of "only one incident in 5 (or is that 10?) years" (he wasn't sure of the timeframe).
Please take a look at the closed sections on the map (and you note the map says that 'Penalties Apply') and steer clear of these tracks.
Reading the release it seems this will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of the council Mar 23 to discuss this. I'd advise anyone with interest in riding Manly Dam to attend. You might also like to email or call councillors (their contact details are available on Warringah's Elected Council page) with your views on this.
Please see the attached map, and full press release below:
