Archive for the ‘Advocacy’ Category

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LA County Draft Trails Manual Public Hearing

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

LA County Draft Trails ManualOn February 28, 2011, about 50 people gathered in the beautiful Birch Room at Descanso Gardens in La Canada. We were there to review and comment upon the most recent draft of the Los Angeles County Trails Manual. But let’s back up a bit…

Last July, CORBA board members met with LA County Planning and Sapphos Environmental (the contractor developing the Trails Manual for the County), in a Mountain Biker only public forum. At that meeting only three CORBA board members attended, the County representatives, and nobody else. The Equestrian-only meeting had many more participants, as did the Hiker-only meeting. Since this document will not set any policy regarding trail designations, Sapphos deemed it more productive to hold separate meetings with each user group. Each group gave their input on what they’d like to see covered in the trails manual, and their special concerns.

At that time in July 2010 there was only one section of the trails manual available for review: the section concerning trail design standards. Most of the standards in that preliminary section were adapted from IMBA’s Trail Solutions book, and other reputable multi-use trail construction texts. It was to be a technical document on building and designing trails, with no influence on the contentious issues around trail user groups and trail designations.

The County’s stated policy and goal is to accommodate all user groups on all trails possible. It is a multi-use, bike-friendly policy that works. We were informed at that time that there would be another round of public hearings as the manual was developed, based on the input from user groups at these meetings. The Manual is being developed with a grant from Supervisor Antonovich’s 5th district, in which the vast majority of the County’s trails can be found. The County has never had any offical trail standards, and many of the older trails are not really sustainable by today’s standards. However, this document would NOT be applied retroactively to existing trails, but will serve as the reference for all new trails that come before the County. It is likely that many of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County will also adopt this manual for their own standards once it is ratified by the County Board of Supervisors.

Fast forward to the February 28, 2011 public hearing. Steve Messer, and CORBA member/local cycling promotor and activist Dorothy Wong attended the meeting, along with about 40 local equestrians and hikers. For a welcome change from other meetings in which CORBA has been involved, the biggest issues raised were not contentious user conflicts, but rather, design standards pertaining to potentially flawed trail designs and citations from outdated Equestrian studies and facility designs.

(more…)

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Posted in Los Angeles, Palos Verdes, San Gabriel Mountains, Trail Access | Comments Closed

Mountain Bike Component of LA Bike Plan In Jeopardy!

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Anyone interested in riding their bicycle off-pavement in any Los Angeles City Park needs to be at the Los Angeles City Council Meeting this Tuesday March 1.

According to sources close to the City Council, the mountain bike feasibility study is about to get stripped out of the bike plan. City Council member Tom LaBonge wants to introduce last minute motion to send the Bicycle Plan back to the Transportation Committee for “revision” (read removal?) before passing the plan by full council.

If you can’t attend the meeting then we encourage you to call La Bonge’s office at (213) 485-3337 or email at councilmember.labonge@lacity.org to share your opinion on LA Bike Plan.

Also make sure to let your city Councilperson know too. This is your city! This is your community! Get involved or lose opportunities to ride dirt in LA. Click here to find your City Councilperson.

Here are few talking points:

1.  Mountain bicyclists have participated in good faith in the entire planning process.
2   The draft plan requires the city to “analyze and explore  opportunities for additional off-road bicycle facilities.”
3.  It requires the city to look at the experience and practices of other cities and of neighboring open space land managers.
4.  It requires an inventory of city dirt roads and trails.
5.  It calls on the city to “evaluate and address multiple user groups’ needs in the City’s limited public park land.”
6.  Mountain biking is a safe, sustainable, health promoting activity.
7.  Among the three purposes of the bike plan are:  Increase the number and type of bicyclists in the city and Make the City of Los Angeles a Bike Friendly community.  The studies of mountain biking on trails are totally appropriate with those goals.
8.  To pull this language now is unwarranted.
9.  The plan has been vetted.  The time to pass it as drafted is NOW.

 

 

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Posted in Advocacy, Health, Los Angeles, Media, Trail Access | Comments Closed

Opponents to Mountain Biking Could Block New Proposed Trail Access for Bicyclists in the Santa Monica Mountains

Friday, February 25th, 2011

On March 2 California State Parks will hold a public meeting to inform interested parties about a new proposal to allow bicycles on two trails currently closed to bikes in Malibu Creek State Park. Opponents of trail access for bicyclists have already circled the wagons and plan on being at the meeting to denounce the proposal and try to block access to bicycles on the Yearling and Lookout Trails. These trails would create a significant connector for bicyclists between Paramount Ranch and the western boundary of Malibu Creek State Park. We need mountain bikers to show up in force and let the land managers know that mountain bikers deserve access to more trails for better connectivity and less congestion.

This could be a landmark decision, setting a precedent that would open even more trails to bicyclists, much of it single track, in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Talking points for those wishing to make public comments:

  • Opening Yearling and Lookout trails to bicycles would create off-pavement connectivity to Paramount Ranch/Agoura Hills
  • More trails open to bicycles means reduced congestion on other trails and an improved trail experience for all users.
  • Access from the northwestern boundary of Malibu Creek State Park could reduce parking congestion at the intersection of Mulholland Highway and Las Virgenes Road.

For more information on this trail access situation, go to our blog article.

Please sign our petition by March 2 so we can show the land managers we have a large constituency of mountain bikers who want more trail access!

Meeting Date and Time (click here for details and agenda)

March 2, 2011, 6 – 7:30 pm

Malibu Creek State Park Administration Center, 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas. Parking fee will be waived for those attending the meeting. View a Google Map of the location with driving directions.

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Posted in Advocacy, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | Comments Closed

Local Spin on Great Outdoors Program

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Click here for an article by KCET.

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Posted in California, Environment, Los Angeles, Media, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | Comments Closed

CORBA Clarifies Sierra Club’s Misinformation

Saturday, February 19th, 2011

In the Santa Monica Mountains Task Force of the Sierra Club’s February newsletter, an article about CORBA’s Change In Trail Use request contained incorrect information. The article (see below) stated that CORBA requested the “reworking” of the Yearling and Lookout Trails, which is incorrect. Here is the reply that was sent to the Task Force’s Chair Mary Ann Webster:

Dear Mary Ann,
In reference to your recent Santa Monica Mountains Task Force of the Sierra Club newsletter, I wanted to point out that CORBA did not propose “reworking” the Yearling and Lookout Trails. CORBA was not involved with the analysis and planning of any kind of rerouting or realignment of these trails as part of the State Park’s Trail Use Change Survey.

While it is true CORBA requested that these trails be considered for bicycle access (as well as the Musch Trail in Topanga State Park), the request has been on record with State Parks for more than 15 years, and includes several trails throughout the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area that are closed to bicycles.
Sincerely,

Mark Langton
President, CORBA

FROM THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS TASK FORCE OF THE SIERRA CLUB’S NEWSLETTER:

CORBA WANTS TO OPEN UP OTHER TRAILS TO BICYCLES

CORBA has asked ACTING ANGELES DISTRICT ACTING SUPERINTENDENT CRAIG SAP to consider opening the MUSCH RANCH TRAIL to mountain bikes. Some people are afraid he might be considering responding in the affirmative. The reaction from the Task Force and the TOPANGA STATE PARK DOCENTS was not long in coming. Emails flew back and forth objecting to the proposal and asking for a meeting with Acting Superintendent Sap.

Soon after CORBA also proposed “reworking” and opening to mountain bikes the LOOKOUT and YEARLING TRAILS in the Reagan Ranch portion of MALIBU CREEK STATE PARK. These trails are in botanically and historically sensitive portions of the Reagan Woodland, and parts of them become very muddy in rainy periods, resulting in serious damage to the trail and adjoining woodland flowers. Equestrian leader RUTHIE GERSON reacted very strongly against opening these trails to mountain bikes, as did several MALIBU CREEK STATE PARK DOCENTS.

We took the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Reagan’s birth to point out that Ronald Reagan told a few of us in 1977 that he had personally laid out the Yearling and Lookout trails as his personal riding trails when he owned the Reagan Ranch. That information started a movement among the Malibu Creek State Park Docents to add the Yearling and Lookout trails to the National Register of Historic Places.

Meanwhile, the Topanga and Malibu Creek docents have asked Acting Superintendent Craig Sap to meet with all stakeholders on this issue instead of meeting only with Corba.

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Posted in Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | Comments Closed

Trail Use Change Proposal Meeting

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

The Angeles District of the California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR) has announced a public information meeting for people wanting to know more about the recent trail use change proposal to accept bicycle use on Yearling and Lookout Trails in Malibu Creek State Park. The meeting will be at the Malibu Creek State Park Administration Center, 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas on March 2 from 6-7:30pm. Parking fee will be waived for those attending the meeting. The entrance to the administration building is through the first driveway to the left as you pass the information kiosk at the main entrance to Malibu Creek State Park.

As reported on this blog, CDPR conducted a Trail Use Change Survey and accepted CORBA’s proposal to allow bicycles on the Yearling and Lookout Trails, which are included on a list of trails that CORBA originally submitted for consideration more than 15 years ago, and again most recently in November of 2010. The agenda for this meeting and a copy of the Trail Use Change Survey can be found below.

Trail Use Change Proposal Meeting Agenda

Purpose of the Meeting:

The purpose of this meeting is to gather input from local user groups on a proposed Trail Use Change proposal for the Yearling and Lookout Trails located within Malibu Creek State Park.

Topics:

  • Trail Management Plan
  • Trail Use Change Survey
  • Condition Assessment/Evaluations
  • State Parks Multi-Use Design Criteria
  • Why Yearling/Lookout was selected
  • What modifications would be needed

Public Comment

Trail Use Change Process

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Posted in Advocacy, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | 1 Comment »

Access to Closed Trail In Cheeseboro Reconsidered

Friday, February 11th, 2011

A few days ago we posted to the blog about a short parallel trail in Cheeseboro Canyon that had been posted closed. According to a National Park Service (NPS) spokesperson, the ranger that initiated the closure gathered input from NPS staff and the public and discussed the findings with her supervisor, and it was determined that the closure would be reconsidered. The NPS spokesperson pointed out that even though the trail is now open, it was and is a user-created social trail and was not created, designed, or approved by NPS. The trail will remain open pending a review by NPS roads and trails staff.

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IMBA Professional Trail Care Crew Coming to SANTA BARBARA

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

March 3rd, Presentation “Club Care – Reinvigorating Your Organization”:
5:30pm – 7:30pm, WheelHouse – 528 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
This presentation focuses on techniques that advocacy groups across the country have used to reach goals, overcome, challenges, and build up their community.  Any trails, outdoor, environmental, or green based organization/non-profit will benefit from this workshop.  Included will be ideas on sustaining boards of directors, recruiting members, and making sure that everyone has a great time participating in their organization.  No cost and open to the public.

March 4th, Land Manager Trails Management Workshop:
9am – 12 noon
The purpose of the presentation is to acquaint Land Managers, agency staff and committees, and private land owners with the language, terminology, contemporary trail design, sustainability, and system planning for successful trails.  The presentation is a catalyst for an open discussion on sustaining multi-use trails, user management strategies, and trail user education (both mountain bikers and other users). Also discussed will be the effective use of volunteers for trail maintenance.
RSVP required with chris.orr@sbmtv.org

March 5th, IMBA Trail Building School for Crew Leaders and Volunteers*:
8:30am – 5:00pm, Casa De La Raza Library,  601 East Montecito Street Santa Barbara, CA 93103:

This workshop instructs cyclist, hiker, and equestrian volunteers sustainable trail building/maintenance techniques and trains volunteers and land managers to use these skills on their trails and in their community.   The workshop will include a half day (8:30am -12:30pm) in class instruction and then a half day on a trail applying and refining skills.   Topics will include trail building methodologies, water erosion control structures, trail bed armoring, user control points, technical features, signage, and more. (Location of the trail will be announced in the workshop.  Carpooling to work site will be strongly encouraged. )
* The Trail Building School is offered at no cost, but participants and potential crew leaders are asked to commit to three trail work events in 2011.

Pre-registration is required.  Register on IMBA website or register by email tochris.orr@sbmtv.org.

Sunday March 6th, IMBA/SBMTV Social Ride.
10:00am. Trail to be announced

Contact me at chris.orr@sbmtv.org or 805.451.0459 for more information.

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Posted in Trail Access, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

We are People for Bikes, and You Should Be Too!

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

People for Bikes

People for Bikes is a movement to unite cyclists from all aspects of cycling. Whether you ride road, mountain, street, bmx, DJ, DH, cross country, touring, or commuting, you’re a cyclist, and should sign the “People for Bikes Pledge.”

All of the CORBA board members and advisors have personally signed the pledge, and we encourage you to do so too. By raising awareness of the sheer numbers of cyclists from all disciplines that are here in this country, the People for Bikes movement aims to ensure that cyclists get noticed and included when it comes to legislation, funding, resource allocation, and other considerations that have a direct impact on our ability to ride our bikes safely, freely, and with the infrastructure that will help encourage more to join our ranks. This is the pledge:

The Pledge

I am for bikes. I’m for long rides and short rides. I’m for commuting to work, weekend rides, racing, riding to school, or just a quick spin around the block. I believe that no matter how I ride, biking makes me happy and is great for my health, my community and the environment we all share. That is why I am pledging my name in support of a better future for bicycling — one that is safe and fun for everyone. By uniting my voice with a million others, I believe that we can make our world a better place to ride.

The following is adapted from a letter from Tim Blumenthal, director of the People For Bikes movement:

If you’ve already signed the pledge, thank you! But we have one simple request: ask a friend to sign the PFB pledge today. If each one of us recruits just one friend, we will instantly double the size of our movement from nearly 200,000 to 400,000. With twice as many supporters, we will double our clout and dramatically enhance our capability to make bicycling in America safer and more appealing for everyone who rides.

Win a People For Bikes Timbuktu Messenger Bag for signing the Pledge in February

As some extra motivation, anyone who signs the pledge during the month of February will instantly be entered to win one of five Timbuk2 custom peopleforbikes.org messenger bags stuffed with other awesome PFB swag. (Don’t worry; you can still enter the giveaway even though you’ve already signed the pledge. Just fill out this form).

Signing the pledge is easy and only takes a few seconds. You can check out the latest blog entries at PeopleForBikes.org to learn more about why it’s so important to get all riders to raise their hands in support of better biking now by signing the pledge.

Happy trails!

Posted in Advocacy, National | Comments Closed

Reply to Cheeseboro Canyon Responses

Sunday, February 6th, 2011

Thanks to all of you who posted your comments regarding our recent blog posting about the possibility of mountain bike access being threatened in Cheeseboro Canyon.

Although the “bonus run” damage may not look like much to most users, one of the top mandates of the National Park Service (“agency”)  is resource conservation. Whether you agree or disagree with the agency, if they view it as damage, they are responsible for mitigating that damage. I’m not saying I agree with their assessment, but if that’s their job, we have to respect it. Part of the process is becoming as educated as possible and working with the land managers to the benefit of all concerned, something CORBA has been doing for 24 years.

One responder brought up the question of damage created by horses as they walk on the soft/muddy trails. This is a very good point, one which I brought up with the agency in an email I sent earlier today (see below). I will report back on their response. CORBA representatives also have a meeting with agency representatives in February and we will make sure this topic is revisited.

For those of you who requested examples and locations of the bonus runs, I went there yesterday and took a few photos (see below). It’s not all of the examples, just the more pronounced ones. A couple of the “bonus runs” are actually mud pit bypasses, which hikers seem to be using as well to go around sections where horses have chewed up the trail. Sorry to not have GPS coordinates attached, but if you ride Cheeseboro with any regularity, you’ll know where they are.

As far as the short section of single track that parallels the fireroad that the agency has posted with a sign, I don’t get it either. But again, just because something has been there for a while, it doesn’t mean that the agency doesn’t view it as a problem.

E-MAIL FROM MARK LANGTON  TO NPS REGARDING TRAIL DAMAGE IN CHEESEBORO CANYON:        Several people have contacted CORBA regarding the recent sign posting closed the short singletrack section of trail in Cheeseboro that parallels the fireroad about .2 miles from the parking lot. Also, a ranger recently commented that the “bonus runs” in Cheeseboro are causing the agency to be concerned about future mountain bike access. We have also noticed that several of the bonus runs (some of which are really mud pit bypasses) have had branches put in place at either end.

We certainly want to protect the resources, but the question comes up about horse use in the parks and the damage caused by walking on the soft/muddy ground, which causes as much if not more damage and subsequent maintenance workload than the off-trail routes caused by bicycles. In fact, if you look at a couple of the bypass trails (and I know this from experience as well), they are bypassing the horse hoof holes created by horses walking through the mud, and hikers are creating/using them too. Damage is damage, and if one user group (mountain bikers) is being singled while another is not being held accountable (equestrians), especially when the equestrian group represents a much smaller percentage than the mountain bike group while creating much more damage per user, it seems unfair at the least.  Please advise.

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