Posts Tagged ‘conejo open space’

5 Bell Boxes Installed Along Thousand Oaks Trails

Monday, December 29th, 2014
Bell boxes contain bells which are free to all users. Please use a bell!

Bell boxes contain bells which are free to all users. Please use a bell!

Over the last month five bell boxes have been installed and stocked along the Los Robles and Rosewood Trails in the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) areas. This is a joint project between CORBA, the Conejo Open Space Foundation (COSF), COSCA, and local Eagle Scout Michael Young, who constructed and placed the boxes. Two thousand bells were purchased by CORBA and COSF, and local volunteers will be stocking them.IMG_2149 In just under one month nearly 300 bells have been placed in the boxes, with several re-stockings already having taken place, which means the bells are being used. Bells are free and are not expected to be returned. Using a bell is a win/win situation on the trails as it alerts others that you are approaching and helps to eliminate the “startle factor” that so many users complain about when citing negative experiences with bikes on the trails.

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Posted in Advocacy, Conejo Valley | Comments Closed

Resolve to Solve in 2013

Monday, December 10th, 2012

How many of you have New Year’s Resolutions that you are hoping to keep? There is one you can make and keep, guaranteed. It will help you, the mountain bike community, and the trail community at large. Ready? Slow down when passing others!

How many things in life can you do that actually solve a problem? On our trails, the one justifiable complaint about mountain bikers is that they sometimes go too fast when passing others, which can be scary and upsetting,even to other cyclists. So all you have to do is slow down when passing, and you SOLVE THE PROBLEM!

Slowing down while passing others on our shared-use trails is a pure win-win proposition. The people who you pass feel good about mountain bikers. WIN! You feel good because you didn’t scare anyone, and everyone has a pleasant exchange. WIN!

Here’s a suggestion: Treat others you are passing on the trail as if you are holding the door open for them. That brief pause is a show of consideration, courtesy, and humanity that will come back to you and the mountain bike community in many positive ways.

It’s up to you. Would you rather finish your ride knowing you did something positive for mountain bikers and trails users, or that you made it worse for yourself and the mountain bike community? You CAN make a difference. And all it takes is slowing down when passing other users!

 

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Posted in Advocacy, Angeles National Forest, California, Conejo Valley, International, Los Angeles, National, Palos Verdes, San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Monica Mountains, Verdugo Mountains | Comments Closed

COSCA Trail Work Day Oct. 2012 Turns Out Big Numbers: Report and Photo Gallery

Saturday, October 20th, 2012

Steve Clark of CORBA and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council pauses during work on the re-routed section of Hawk Canyon Trail.

The 22nd COSCA Trail Work Day had one of the largest turnouts in history this past Saturday with 160 volunteers helping build nearly a mile of new trail in the Western Plateau area to the west of Wildwood Park. An entirely new section of trail was installed which re-routed the existing trail away from an unstable stream-side exposure.

Blake Donley (left) won the grand prize Giant Revel 4 mountain bike, donated by Giant Bicycles, at the Trail Work Day opportunity drawing.

The staging location was new this year, with volunteers meeting at the new Santa Rosa Park facility off Sant Rosa Road in Santa Rosa Valley. The Western Plateau area of the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency will be getting many more miles of trails installed within the next several years.

See our photo gallery to see all the goings on!

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Posted in Conejo Valley, Trail Building and Restoration | 1 Comment »

In My Backyard (IMBY)

Saturday, May 12th, 2012

By Mark Langton

Please slow down on Rosewood Trail

You might not know that in addition to being President of CORBA, I am also the chair of the Conejo Open Space Trails Advisory Committee (COSTAC), a Thousand Oaks city-appointed committee to the Conejo Open Space  Conservation Agency (COSCA).  So while I ride all over the Santa Monica mountains and beyond, COSCA is IMBY.

At our most recent COSTAC meeting, a member of the public brought to our attention that several local residents who use the Santa Rosa Trail off Lynn Road on a frequent basis have been seeing increased speed and discourteous behavior by mountain bikers coming downhill on the trail. The Santa Rosa Trail just so happens to be the closest trail to my house and I literally ride it at least once a week, if not more. So this is really IMBY!

One of the more disturbing reports was that riders are not slowing down while passing hikers and other mountain bikers. All I can say is, please slow down on Rosewood Trail and the Los Robles Trail as well (aka Switchbacks or Space Mountain).

Rangers will be increasing their presence on these routes and reminding people to slow down when approaching corners and around other users. While they are not usually prone to writing citations, they do have the authority to do so. Please respect COSCA’s shared use policies and ride respectfully around other users on these and all shared use trails. Thanks!

 

 

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Posted in Advocacy, Conejo Valley | Comments Closed

Rim of the Valley Study Comments

Friday, October 29th, 2010

As we reported back in August, the National Park Service has been holding public hearings on the Rim of the Valley Special Resource Study.  The public meetings have provided an opportunity for many to voice their support and/or concerns for the concept study.  Until midnight tonight, you can email your comments to the National Park Service.

Rim of the Valley Study Area Map

Rim of the Valley Study Area

The Rim of the Valley is comprised of the open spaces that surround the San Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi and Conejo valleys. This area spans both Los Angeles and Ventury County, and a bevy of land managers from different agencies. CORBA fully supports the prospect of having these various land managers come together under the direction of the National Park Service, with the goal of permanently protecting this vital ecological and recreational resource.

(more…)

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Posted in Advocacy, Angeles National Forest, Conejo Valley, Default, Environment, Los Angeles, National, Palos Verdes, San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access, Verdugo Mountains | Comments Closed

CORBA Adopted Trail Damaged by Water Spill

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

by Danusia Bennett-Taber 

COSCA Los Robles West Potrero trailhead. The spill-induced rut is much worse a little further up the trail.

 

A power outage at a local water facility caused substantial damage to our COSCA (Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency) adopted trail – Los Robles West / Potrero trailhead section. On Saturday August 21st hundreds of gallons of water poured down this trail  opening huge ruts and even damaging the parking lot. 

COSCA is trying to find the responsible party so they can repair this damage. Until that happens, be aware of this damage and ride safely. 

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Posted in Adopted trail reports, Conejo Valley, CORBA News, Trail Hazards | Comments Closed

CORBA has adopted Conejo Open Space Los Robles Trail West (aka Space Mountain to Potrero Rd.)

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

"Space Mountain" gets its name from the radio towers at the top of the Mountain.

CORBA is proud to announce our adoption of the Los Robles Trail West (aka Space Mountain to Potrero Rd.) under COSCA’s Adopt-a-Trail program. This program allows individuals, civic groups and private companies to adopt trails. Adopting entities agree to provide maintenance for their selected trails on a quarterly basis, as well as regularly monitor conditions on the trail. This is great news for users of this trail. It is a favorite of mountain bikers locally and from all over Southern California. Los Robles West is unique for its tolerance to rain. Good drainage and low clay soil make it ridable after even heavy rainfall, so it is heavily used during the winter. But “good drainage” is not “perfect drainage,” and heading into the summer there are often some rutted sections in need of repair, as well as brush clearance is always required after spring growth. The Thousand Oaks area is fortunate to have a large selection of Conejo Open Space trails open for multiple use. Unfortunately a shortage of resources limits the maintenance performed by the land managers. CORBA is stepping in here to help fill the shortfall.  We hope to engage local trail users to help provide ongoing trail maintenance to this trail. We are looking for volunteers and trail crew leaders to help maintain our newly adopted trail. If you would like to get involved please email us, or call us at 818-206-8213. 

View Los Robles West in a larger map

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Posted in Adopted trail reports, Conejo Valley, CORBA News, Trail Crew | Comments Closed