Mountain Bike Trail Plan Detailed

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 03:56 AM

area outlined with dotted orange line is area considered for mountain bike trail system

Prince George, B.C.- The City has endorsed a plan for mountain bike trails trails in Prince George.

The Prince George Cycling Club presented a plan that would see the city and Province allowing a system of trails to be used on 700 hectares of land around the new golf course property west of Foothills Boulevard and south of the land fill site. Of course these are not NEW trails, they are the old trails which mountain bikers have been rolling over for years. The plan would see the trails developed, (by the PG Cycle Club) to international standards.

The PGCC will:

– Fundraise

– Organize volunteers

– Manage and maintain the trails.

– Work with the city to develop long-term plans

– Improve the planning & safety of trails by designing, building and maintaining to International Mountain Biking Standards

The planning for such an area goes back to 2003, when City Administration ( at the direction of Council) began pursuing a memorandum of understanding between the City, landowners and trail users in the Nechako ridge area for a large recreational area.

The PGCC proposal was developed in accordance with the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and the Arts (MTSA) Policy Statement for ‘Authorizing Recreational Mountain Bike Trails on Provincial Crown Land’. These agreements are currently being utilized in Smithers, Fort St. John, Williams Lake and numerous other communities throughout the province.

The agreements are customized to the specific areas and outline the terms and conditions that relate to public safety, user group conflict avoidance and environmental stewardship. Agreement holders are required to provide multiple trail use, indemnify the Province against losses or claims, maintain a minimum of two million dollars comprehensive general liability insurance and name the Province of British Columbia as an additional insured, while fulfilling various other risk management provisions.

City Council has unanimously endorsed the proposal

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Posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 03:56 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: robichal on October 21 2008 6:38 AM

That is fantastic news. Although I don't bike all that much, it will be nice to know that if I want to go I don't need to go near traffic, I'm guessing you will be able to run/walk on these trails as well. Not to mention this is nice for the image of PG. Way to go mountain bikers of PG!!! I for one will volunteer to make this a success!

Posted by: Starbright on October 21 2008 8:05 AM

I don't think you would want to run or walk on a Mountain bike Trail. Dangerous for yourself and the bikers! They go pretty fast and hard. Hard to see around corners etc. to watch for people on foot.

Posted by: RUEZ on October 21 2008 10:14 AM

One suggestion to opinion250. You guys often post a lot of pictures and maps with your stories. Is it possible to make them clickable. So when I click on one I can get a much larger version, my eyes aren't what they once were.

Posted by: Shellshadow on October 21 2008 11:38 AM

Hit "Contact Us" at the bottom of the page Ruez. There are a couple email addys there you can chose from. What you suggest is a very good idea and should not be lost in this post.

Good luck and have a good day!!

Posted by: Oldun on October 21 2008 12:29 PM

Excellent plan. Once completed how do you propose keeping the "motorized madmen" from ripping them up? Quads, motorcycles and snowmobiles do much damage to trails every year. It's the macho thing I guess. Anyway, good luck with your trails for mountain bikers.

Posted by: lmorg on October 21 2008 1:42 PM

I would hope that one or more of these trails would be contoured for the less extreme sports people. AKA like a ski hill: Black diamond runs....Bunny hill runs. etc.

Posted by: robichal on October 21 2008 4:21 PM

Aw, Starbright I think you might correct...I like to run and walk w/ my dog but I don't want to hurt anyone or get myself or my precious dog hurt either. Oh well, I'm still happy that we are getting this... :)

Posted by: suzzette on October 21 2008 8:56 PM

unfortunately there are some errors in this article. The trails proposed will not be new, they're the 20 year old trails of Pidherny that the PGCC is trying to save from development. There will be signage for everybody, walkers, runners, bikers and will be appropriately signed, Blue, Green, Black Diamond.
When it comes to motorized sports, we'll try to work with them rather than against them.
If anyone would like to get on board, please contact the PGCC and your help would be more than welcomed!
http://www.pgcyclingclub.ca/