This is my first post on Farkin so lets get the formalities out of the way.
Well I'm the Comic Book Guy and that's because he and me have way too much in common. I live in Ruse, am 41 years old (so that just puts me in the 20+ category that someone mentioned earlier
). I try to do at least three rides a week around Peter Meadows Ck, Kentlyn, Smiths Ck, Airds, St Helens Park, Noorumba Reserve and Wedderburn. Other activities include bushwalking (yes, I am a tree hugger) and geocaching (WTF?
).
For what it's worth here's my 2cents worth.
Scuba05 you are on the right track. I have been thinking along similar lines for some time now. We should have somewhere for people to go and try and kill themselves for fun
.
I have some thoughts and suggestions for achieving your goal.
1. Stay the distance, there is no way this would happen overnight so if you intend on proceeding be prepared for a sustained effort over a long period of time.
2. Talk to Council. I have dealt with Council before on conservation and reserve management issues and they are very approachable. Approach council as a group with representatives of the various mtb flavours. As to councils feelings on mtb riding I am not sure but they have banned mtb riding on the Old Ford Rd, so that's one hell of a downhill that is now off the ride list. This could play to your advantage as an example of the reduction in facilities as a cause of illegal trails.
But don't stop there, write to Graham West (State) and Pat Farmer (Federal) and see if you could get them involved. Maybe send them a copy of any petition. Trust me there is nothing like a "do it for the kids" news story to attract a politician, it's like flies to crap. And pollies have "slush funds" for their electorates.
Hit the newspapers to see if they can do a story about the lack of facilities and the "horrifying" dangers and "terrible" damage from illegal trail building.
The petition is a great idea. Generate public interest in your cause. It adds weight to your claims of a genuine need for proper trail infrastructure.
3. Location...Location...Location, Greenies, NIMBY and Petrol Pixies.
Someone mentioned the skate park. The skate park is great idea and has what every real estate agent will tell you is essential, that is location...location...location. I know where the Peter Meadows stuff was and it was in a bad location, is it any surprise it was found you could see it very easily from the road. And I hate to be the bringer of bad news but the northshore stuff in Kentlyn is also well known (BTW and fun to ride on
).
Finding a location will be a problem, getting access to bush areas will be next to impossible so another location will need to be found.
Don't fight the tree huggers embrace them, get them on side about trying to remove illegal trails and how good it will be for the koalas, bushwalkers and tree huggers in general. Also, never underestimate their political power, connections and advocacy skills. If off-side they can be formidable foes, just ask the people organising the riding trail work in the Royal National Park how much fun some of the organised greenies have been.
NIMBY or Not In My BackYard. The skate park is an ideal example of placement as it is not located close to any houses. So there was not much that could be said about disturbing the neighbours. Local resistance will be a problem if a proposed area is too near housing, this will further constrain prospects for a park development.
Ensure that you clearly differentiate mtb from petrol pixies (aka motorbikes). Motorbikes are a serious pest in the area and many people percieve mtb to be as bad as motorbikes. This link needs to be broken as early as possible and repeated at every oppportunity to ensure a clear differentiation.
4. Public Liability.
As a committee member and walk leader for a bushwalking club I am very aware of the pain in the arse that public liability has become. Luckily the Civil Liabilities Act 2003 has helped out but I can assure you that public liability will be a major issue for council to consider. As mentioned earlier this can be overcome by signage, proper construction and maintenance but this may be a sticking point for council.
5. Random Thoughts.
Have you considered having a meeting of interested people. How about a ride day? It seems to me that some people who have participated in this forum are keen to get involved. Maybe they could be part of the representative group that approaches council.
The advice from FR Drew and Astroboy is right on the money. Read and absorb.
Forming a Macarthur MTB Club would give significant legitimacy to any approach to council but this is a major undertaking that would require a lot of organising and work. Are you or anyone else in a position to do this?
Think about the message you are trying to get across and repeat it at every opportunity.
Wow, look at all this crap I've written. You would think I was a lawyer or something
, thankfully I'm not a lawyer. I hope that my thoughts may have been of some use and haven't put you off. If I think of anything else then I'll post it in this thread.
Cheers,
CBG
P.S. If you are looking for ride info try
http://home.swiftdsl.com.au/~gammapisigma/mtb.php . It's been a work in progress for some time now so be gentle with me as it is a looooong way from finished.
