Calgary Mountain Bike Alliance - Nose Hill Park

Issues > Nose Hill Park

Nose Hill Park - Let's Be Fair

Give Hikers 900 Trails, We'll Take 18
Isn't City Council Generous on Our Behalf

On March 15, 2000 the SPC on Community & Protective Services voted in favour of the Park Development and Operations' Report (CPS 2000-14)

Its goal is to preserve the natural environment of Nose Hill Park by reducing the number of trails and controlling the degradation of the remaining trails. The Calgary Mountain Bike Alliance supports these goals.

However, this is not the way.

Council members and Parks & Recreation have identified that cyclists and hikers have the same impact. How can trails in the Park be protected when 87% of the users still have full, unfettered access to 88% of the trails?
Council members talk of fair compromise as they allow hikers access to 900 trails while allowing cyclists access to 18.
The trails that are left to cyclists are steep direct accesses from parking lots to the top of the hill. Trained athletes would have difficulty riding up many of these trails yet Parks & Recreation wants families to use these trails to access the Park.

It seems that they want families and recreational riders to stop riding in their Park.

CMBA presented a 25-minute presentation to the committee that identified clearly that:

CMBA supports protection of the natural character of the Park
The Administration is proposing a 98% ban on cyclists using the Park.
Trail management must be non-discriminatory.
Trail decisions must be fact based and not perception based.
CMBA has been a proactive and supportive of past City initiatives to manage natural areas.
Cyclists have the same or lower environmental impacts as hikers.
The process utilized by the Administration tried to give the perception of public input but in fact was an attempt to have the public ratify decisions that were already made by Parks & Recreation.
The Nose Hill Natural Areas Management Plan is factually flawed and should be abandoned.

While this presentation appeared to be well received, the Committee voted to accept the Recommendations of the Administration with only a few cosmetic changes.

Cyclists will now be banned from all trails on the escarpment of the hill except for 18 segments that provide access to the top of the hill. Straying from the authorized trails will cost you $150.00 if you are caught and the City can make it stick.