Mountain Bike Advocacy: Cleveland Metroparks declines to consider expansion of mountain biking
Since CAMBA’s inception in 2001, the opportunity for the public to legally ride a bicycle off-road in Cleveland Metroparks has been a top priority. CAMBA has invested over 2500 volunteer hours in the mountain bike trail at Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation and it is a great start, but the trail is less than two miles in length and represents the only place that a person can legally ride a bicycle on a natural surface trail in Cuyahoga or Summit Counties. Opportunities for expansion of the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation are limited, which has led CAMBA to seek other suitable locations.
During 2008, CAMBA has sent letters to Cleveland Metroparks that:
1. Outlined our recommendations for the mountain bike trail at Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation. Click here.
2. Recommended that Bedford Reservation would be a logical choice for expanding mountain bike opportunities in Cleveland Metroparks. Click here.
3. Requested a meeting to discuss the future of mountain biking in Cleveland Metroparks. Click here.
However, in a recent letter to CAMBA, Cleveland Metroparks has stated that no expansion of mountain biking will be considered in any other Cleveland Metroparks Reservation. Obviously, the position that Cleveland Metroparks has taken is a disappointment to CAMBA. While dissappointing, we have been actively advocating for the opportunity to ride bicycles off-road in Cleveland Metroparks for over seven years now and this latest letter will not deter our efforts.
Below are some highlights of the letter and CAMBA's response to the statements:
Statement: “…a 2002 survey of 4500 “in-park” users found that “99 percent rated Bedford’s existing trails (of all types) as excellent””.
Response: If mountain bikers are not legally permitted in any Cleveland Metroparks reservation and the survey is conducted “in-park”, it seems logical that no mountain bikers would be included in the survey.
Statement: “A 2004 independent/random telephone survey of 800 citizens …[found that] 81 percent rated “preserving parkland for wildlife and undeveloped open space” as a top priority.”
Response: The trails CAMBA builds are typically 18-24 inches wide with a natural surface that leaves roots, rocks, and all trees greater than about 6 inches in diameter in place. In the case of our proposal for trails for Bedford Reservation, we are not suggesting any new trails be constructed. Instead, we are suggesting that existing trails be upgraded to modern, sustainable standards such as those taught by the International Mountain Bicycling Association and utilized by CAMBA. Once upgraded, CAMBA suggests that bicycles be allowed on these trails.
Additionally, if “preserving parkland for wildlife and undeveloped open space” is a top priority, why does Cleveland Metroparks' plan for the new West Creek Reservation include bulldozing a road through the forest, building a multi-million dollar stewardship center, and bulldozing an asphalt path through the forest? Why was a massive maintenance facility built in Rocky River Reservation on land that was previously untouched?
Statement: “…the adopted master plan recommended…paved all purpose trails and earth nature trails, but not mountain bike or bridle trails.”
Response: The trails CAMBA builds are typically 18-24 inches wide with a natural surface (i.e., “earth”) that leaves roots, rocks, and all trees greater than about 6 inches in diameter in place. As far as we aware, the only difference between the trails that we have built and “earth nature trails” is that bicycles are not permitted on trails Cleveland Metroparks defines as “earth nature trails”.
Statement: “Cleveland Metroparks evaluated that the addition of additional/new trails within most of the existing reservations could have negative natural resource, safety, and visitor experience input”.
Response: After receiving this letter, CAMBA contacted Cleveland Metroparks and asked for a copy of this evaluation. We have been told that no formal evaluation was undertaken. We are not aware how Cleveland Metroparks concluded that “additional/new trails within most of the existing reservations could have negative natural resource, safety, and visitor experience input” without a formal evaluation.
Statement: “…CAMBA, as early as 2004, inquired to Cleveland Metroparks regarding the potential of mountain bike trails within the Emerald Necklace.”
Response: CAMBA’s predecessor, the defunct Northeast Ohio Mountain Bike Association, requested Cleveland Metroparks allow mountain biking at multiple points between 1994 and 1999. Just a few months after CAMBA was formed in March of 2001, Mindy Kuth and Mike Farley of CAMBA met with Bob Hinkle of Cleveland Metroparks to discuss mountain biking. In August of 2002, CAMBA and representatives from the International Mountain Bicycling Association met with Vern Hartenburg, Executive Director, to discuss off-road cycling in Cleveland Metroparks. Cyclists have been asking Cleveland Metroparks to ride on natural surface trails within the Emerald Necklace for approximately 14 years.
Statement: “Therefore, on October 5, 2006, in a meeting you [i.e., Mike Farley] attended, the Board of Park Commissioners, while accepting an additional 33.5 acres of parkland to enlarge the Canal Reservation, also acknowledged that mountain bike trails could be constructed, by CAMBA, in the Reservation.”
Response: No CAMBA leader, including Mike Farley, was present at this Cleveland Metroparks board meeting. In fact, the first Cleveland Metroparks board meeting that Mike Farley (or any other CAMBA leader) attended was early in the summer of 2008.
Next Steps
We have been actively advocating for the opportunity to ride bicycles off-road in Cleveland Metroparks for over seven years now and this latest letter will not deter our efforts. While we have discussed it at meetings, most of the interaction between CAMBA and Cleveland Metroparks over the past seven years has not been published on this website. In a separate article, CAMBA will outline the complete history of our interaction with Cleveland Metroparks. Look for that article to appear soon.
If you have questions or concerns about the position that Cleveland Metroparks has taken, we encourage you to contact them directly:
Cleveland Metroparks
4101 Fulton Parkway
Cleveland, Ohio 44144
216-635-3200
