Riders,
We have news about the future of mountain biking in Odell Park. The park planning process that began with open houses in October of 2017 is ready to wrap up with a final plan being presented to the City Council’s Community Services Committee today (June 24th) at noon. All your letter-writing, survey participation, talking to City Councillors, and engagement with the process has put us in a much better position. You spoke about a love for the park, your desire for sustainable trails, and your willingness to be part of the solution. Seems like somebody listened.
The City engaged with RVC over the last month in preparing the final plan for Odell and we were able to secure several key points:
• We asked for acknowledgement that well designed and maintained mountain bike trails are sustainable and have a place in Odell.
• We asked for an individual sustainability review of each trail, in consultation with RVC, rather than a broad-brush approach that would summarily close every piece of existing single-track.
• We asked that if a trail review concludes that there are no options to upgrade/reroute an existing single-track and decommissioning is necessary, that this would happen at the same pace as new trails are built.
• We asked that RVC be involved in any new trail design and construction in the future that comes from this plan.
• We asked for the narrative around conflict between users in the park that singled out cyclists to be removed.
City staff agreed with RVC on these points and included them in the final plan to be presented to Council. We’re excited to work with the City on this.The City has told us that they will engage with RVC and other stakeholders who value the park as they implement the plan and we are trusting that they will do that in good faith. Let’s be sure that we do the same. We believe that the plan that is being presented to the Community Services Committee today could be the basis for long term sustainable mountain biking in Odell Park. If it passes this committee today it will go to full City Council in the near future.
We will keep you updated.
