councils and trails

[khdownes]

okay so me and a friend started building some trails about a year ago now down behind the closed down pizza hut off pascoe vale rd, in moonee ponds.
they were coming along slowly at first, but soon gained interest and throughout winter quite a lot of work was put into making the spot a pretty nifty place to ride.

now we had worked trhoughout winter, in the rain and cold, with the vision in mind that as the weather warmed up, and the dirt hardened, they would be some pretty sweet jumps.
As we were building, we had had a few discussioins with council memebers, and they said they didnt have a problem as long as we werent in the way of their tractor path, so we made sure we were completely out of the way. we had pretty much kept it all within a 10 by 10 metre area that had previously been covered in big dead logs and stuff.

now its just hit spring, weve finally got some nice warm days, i go down there to check them out and what did i find?
The council had completely leveled the place!
and when i say leveled, i mean they had completely raped it. removed ALL of the work we had done.
we have build some jumps over a spur in the hillside. They have completely removed the section of the hill!
if i had my camera, i would have taken a photo, its amazing the amound of wrk that has gone into destroying all of our hard work.

and for what reason? safety issues? there are other tracks around here, and unless im mistaken, the council is immune to lawsuits for injury in public area.
we were completely out of the way, the land was useless. or at least untill we actually cleared it.
and what really pisses me off, is that they waited till the end of winter, the working season, just as all our hard work was beginning to pay off, THEN they destroy it.

[scratchy]

Hmmm. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that story...

Check out the Trail Building part of the forum, your's isn't the first and won't be the last, liability on council land is always a big issue from councils perspective but there are other riders that have successfully tackled it. May I suggest next time you get permission first, build 2nd.

[Grip]

Well shame about your trails mate, but don't kid yourself that council "waited" until all your hardwork was done before knocking them down... they're not vindictive :rolleyes:

And the bottom-line? They were illegal trails, so suck it up and get on with life. I'd suggest getting ACTUAL council approval next time.

[khdownes]

Well shame about your trails mate, but don't kid yourself that council "waited" until all your hardwork was done before knocking them down... they're not vindictive :rolleyes:

And the bottom-line? They were illegal trails, so suck it up and get on with life. I'd suggest getting ACTUAL council approval next time.

yeh i suppose so. the thing is, all along there had been council workers there while we were building, and they said all along it wasnt really a problem unless we got in their way.
But it is really amazing the amount of work that has gone intyo COMPLETELY removing any traces of the trails.
Also the problem with council allocated tracks and parks and stuff is they are often crap. and you are not allowed to build there yourself.
there is a bmx track in a nearly park, it is THE worst thiung ever, it is a really small oval, with no burms, so you cant actually get speed, and just 2 big hills that you cant get air off.

[demo man]

Also the problem with council allocated tracks and parks and stuff is they are often crap. and you are not allowed to build there yourself.
there is a bmx track in a nearly park, it is THE worst thiung ever, it is a really small oval, with no burms, so you cant actually get speed, and just 2 big hills that you cant get air off.

dude, the only time that happens is when riders only half do their advocacy job. part of advocacting for trail access is making sure they're good trails...

Take a look at Mt. Stromlo - that's fully funded by the Government, and it's going to be awsome - BECAUSE the CORC trails officers, over the past years, have spent a lot of time and hard work talking about, educating and explaining our sport to the people in power. Not to mention growning the sport to a reasonable size in our area too.

The fact is, if you want the sport to grow and become recognised, you need to do things the legal way. Like scratchy said, check out the trails forum on here. Also, feel free to send e-mails to trail officers from different clubs around Australia to ask for info/proposals etc.


nonetheless, it still sucks that your trails were destroyed. riding bikes is way more fun that talkng to council members about how safe we are.

[Grip]

yeh i suppose so. the thing is, all along there had been council workers there while we were building, and they said all along it wasnt really a problem unless we got in their way.
But it is really amazing the amount of work that has gone intyo COMPLETELY removing any traces of the trails.
Also the problem with council allocated tracks and parks and stuff is they are often crap. and you are not allowed to build there yourself.
there is a bmx track in a nearly park, it is THE worst thiung ever, it is a really small oval, with no burms, so you cant actually get speed, and just 2 big hills that you cant get air off.

Mate, I understand your mood over this... I've been having riding areas closed on me since 1969... BUT unfortunately for you, council WORKERS have about as much authority as Saddam in the American Congress. You need to have actual COUNCIL approval and that will only come with ongoing, persistent communication with and approaches to council.

[rickazz]

yes i think most people on here have had some trails destroyed at least once but i think most of the times the councils make the place look even worse. they level everything and destroy trees its bad what we do but i reckon the council may just be doing there job but they make it all look pretty bad.
thats only my opinion but in the end know one should be building trails.

[Mur]

in the end know one should be building trails.

Ill assume that u mean illegal trails, but still alot of mt bike trails are illegal and with out these the sport would not be what it is today.

I worked on these trails last yr but with uni and other commitments havent had a chance recently. Over the past couple of months others have put in alot of work really building it up.

Yes these are illegal, but there isnt anywhere on this side of melbourne where it is legal and there have been jumps in this place for atleast 12 years (as long as i have lived in the area).

But anyway, yeah, we should contact the council and see if the least they can do is fix the bmx track, there certainly is enough interest judging by the number of people who have worked on these trails.

[demo man]

But anyway, yeah, we should contact the council and see if the least they can do is fix the bmx track, there certainly is enough interest judging by the number of people who would work on these trails.

The number of people who say they will help build trails and the number that do are very different. seriously.

[Mur]

The number of people who say they will help build trails and the number that do are very different. seriously.

na, alot of people WERE building the trails before they were bulldozed

i probaby should have said "judging by the number of people who have worked on these trails"

[khdownes]

yeh people, im not really THAT phased about the trails since i didnt really have mcuh to do with them for a few months now, i prefer the skate park, however most skate parks are a real shit to get to from my house and your usually knacked by the time you get there.

but anyway, i was really just amazed at the amount of work that had gone into destroying them. ill get a photo some time and put it in this thread.
Its an extremely weird site to see this perfectly flat spot. and the way the hill just cuts off where the spur used to be.
and to see the potential of the spot there.
it was like a real compact spot with quite a few jumps packed together, and a big run in from one end of the hillside.
they way the spur stuck out meant you could build jumps over it without having to move much dirt, and it was good for beginners because it was filled out.

[moorey]

It's one thing to get the council offside, it's another to get them onside. Our club works closely with the council and DSE/DNRE, and as a result, they have started sponsering and promoting our races....even offered a wad of cash for us to get a 4x track designed/built by an un named famous track builder.
Yay for us..!!!

[khdownes]

It's one thing to get the council offside, it's another to get them onside. Our club works closely with the council and DSE/DNRE, and as a result, they have started sponsering and promoting our races....even offered a wad of cash for us to get a 4x track designed/built by an un named famous track builder.
Yay for us..!!!

thats awsome

[scratchy]

Hmm. I could also list a bunch of other councils that have made great jump park facilities, the message here is that if MTBers don't get involved the outcome (if they decide to build something) will invariably be lame, because the council has no idea on what you want, because you aren't talking to them.

For more info on how to deal with councils check this thread out:
http://forums.farkin.net/showthread.php?t=55786