November 6/03 11:27 am - Stunt Builders REMINDED not to use Wooden Palletes

Posted by Editoress on 11/6/03
 

MTB Workshop Follow up

On Saturday November 1st a workshop was held in Crothers' Woods (Don Valley). Item 4 is a special URGENT notice to all builders of stunts in all wooded areas.


On behalf of Garth Armour and myself of the Natural Environment and Horticulture Section of Parks, thank you very much for your participation in last Saturday's workshop on Mountain Biking in Crothers' Woods.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the presenters: Kirk Biggar for his informative walk through Crothers' Woods, Lionel Normand of the TRCA on the Natural Heritage Strategy, and Jim Best on the resources available through IMBA. A huge thank you is also warranted to Bob Bonner and Justin Andrews for their ongoing help to bring the mountain bikers' perspectives into light for us, educating us on world of mountain biking and with preparing for the workshop. Also, thanks to Roslyn Moore with the Don Council for lending her experience on this issue, and keeping the ball rolling with many great ideas and input. Thank you as well to Christine Iamonaco-Dagg for leading the break out session.

Given the positive response on Saturday, we are anxious to keep the momentum going in order to move forward with this initiative. We were extremely encouraged by the enthusiasm and thoughtfulness with which the participants approached the workshop. Although there are still some uncertainties as to what the exact long term outcomes may be, we feel that a few recommendations can be acted on together, immediately, in order to keep the ball rolling. These include (in rough format):

1. Formation of a formalized group that can represent the mountain biking community in the Crothers' Woods area and be affiliated with IMBA. This may also involve a larger membership including community members who want to participate in clean ups, trail work, meetings etc, or just be kept informed on progress.

2. Development of signage to be installed at strategic locations in Crothers' Woods to address fundamental issues (eg. rules of the trail, forest health, safety, etc.).

3. Identification of representatives of the new formalized group to liaise with the City of Toronto and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (ie. a steering committee) on crucial issues such as funding, signage, liability...etc. committee.

4. Finally, a very urgent action item is for NEHS to work with the Forestry section and Parks Operations staff to have shipping palette material removed due to the threat of introduction of Asian Long Horned Beetle (ALHB) to Crothers' Woods. An infestation here would be absolutely devastating and I encourage you to spread the word about the issue and deter people from bringing in untreated wood into natural areas. This is a link to a fact sheet about ALHB on the City's websiteand on the Federal Government's website

These recommendations may be elaborated on when I send out the minutes to the group later this week or early next. Please feel free to send me any thoughts or suggestions in the mean time. Garth and I will be speaking with other City staff over the next few weeks and hope to have further identification on next steps. I hope the above ideas can keep the momentum going and that the workshop allowed interested individuals a good opportunity to meet and share ideas.

Thank you again to everyone who participated in the workshop as a first step to investigating longer term solutions regarding trails in natural areas. Again, please do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone with ideas and/or concerns. It was pleasure meeting everyone, and I look forward to working with you further on this!

Best wishes,
Keri


Keri McMahon
Lower Don Project Specialist
Bring Back the Don
City of Toronto, Parks and Recreation
Natural Environment and Horticulture Section
tel: (416) 392-0373
fax: (416) 338-1069
http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/don/

Mailing Address:
City Hall, 8th Floor, West Tower
100 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2

Office Address:
Don Valley Brick Works
550 Bayview Avenue