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Fish Creek 2000 update Fish Creek Provincial Park has almost completed the management plan section that pertains to dirt trails. Fish Creek used the City of Calgary's Cycling Policy on Undesignated Trails in Parkland that was approved by City Council as its guide and we look forward to what the final outcome is. If you are seeking answers you may want to call 297-5293. Trail Closures on Hold? Again, many thanks to the many CMBA members that came out to the Fish Creek Open Houses in November 1998. While we were at first not overly optimistic that our efforts were going to advance our cause, there are some new developments that will be of interest to any Fish Creek trail users. First some background and a summary of issues relevant to cyclists: When Fish Creek Provincial Park began developing its Management Plan, one of the "issues" they noted was "off trail use by mountain bikes." We note that this was one of several issues but fail to understand why Fish Creek is so predisposed in focusing so much attention on cyclists. We are not the only trail users in Fish Creek and there is no scientific evidence to suggest that cycling is any more environmentally detrimental than any other off trail activity. (And we should note... "off trail" means off the red shale pathways... not off the trails as we know them.) CMBA was one member on the six member Undesignated Trails Committee asked to participate in the Fish Creek Management Plan. A process, spearheaded and directed by Fish Creek, was initiated with an announced aim at balancing the recreational needs of the users while maintaining the environmental integrity of the natural area. We note that there were no user preference studies undertaken in this process. How can we attempt to balance recreational needs if we don't know specifically what those needs are? A "filter system" was developed by Fish Creek as a means of EVALUATING trails. It seems this evaluation tool has become the sole decisional factor in determining whether a trail will remain open or closed. This violates the Terms of Reference agreed upon by all of the Fish Creek Undesignated Trails Committee members when this whole process began. Other issues:
Fish Creek conducted the Open Houses in November 1998 as part of their public consultation. Cyclists came out in droves and provided honest and useful feedback. Fish Creek maintains that "the Open Houses became unfocused with issues raised by the Calgary Mountain Bike Alliance." We feel that the Open Houses lacked focus and the agenda was poorly conveyed. Fish Creek presented a series of maps that they contend detailed trail closures. The consensus of attendees, however, as documented in the feedback forms completed at the Open House, indicates that Fish Creek did not provide an adequate presentation of this information. Maybe we're just a bunch of dumb cyclists but we couldn't understand your maps! Furthermore, what is the intended purpose of an "Open House?" Is it not to solicit public feedback? Sooo, we found ourselves at an impasse with cyclists strongly opposed to the process and the tools used for closing trails in Fish Creek. At a recent meeting, we were able to deliver the message that adequate science was not applied in making these proposed changes to Fish Creek and, more importantly, there appears to be an obvious lack of due diligence in formulating these policies. While these terms will be familiar to any cycling advocate, the "due diligence" phrase will also have significant meaning for anyone in legal or professional engineering circles. Without applying due diligence, Fish Creek may not be able to implement their trail closures. Stay tuned. For more background info on Fish Creek, see: |
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