Proposed bike riding park divides Carlington residents

A proposal to builda recreation area and trails for cyclistswithin an existingOttawa park is threatening to divide theCarlington community.

The Ottawa Mountain Bike Association (OMBA) isproposing apark with a circuit of small hills and jumps called a "pumptrack,"a mountain bike skills area, dirt jumps, and trails designed for riders of differentskill levels.

The features would be added to the southern and western edgesof Carlington Park, eventually taking up about half of the park area over four phases of construction.

The City of Ottawa supports theproject in principle, andRiver WardCoun.Riley Brockingtonsays while he'swatched the process cautiously, hecalls itunique opportunity incentralOttawa where littlemountain bikingis available.

'This seems like a good fit'

"This seems like a good fit," said Brockington. "We have an opportunity that aligns with what the city is looking for to maximize opportunitiesat our parks and greenspace now."

Brockington plans to visit Carlington Park this month with city staff to get an idea of how much land will be used for the riding park."I want to make sure there's significant space left for general use, whatever people want to do go fly a kite, have their own trails, go for a run," he said.

The councillorcallsOMBA a credible, local organization with a record of successfully establishing riding parks in places like the South March Highlands.He addsthe riding park here wouldn't have to be permanent.

The Carlington Community Association has created asurveyto gauge how residents feel about the idea.

Fears of Conflict

But residentJim Richards hasalready made up hismindabout what will happen when what he calls an"arrogant mob" of cyclists takes control of the parkland.

The retireeprovides a dogwalking service for his neighbours, and takes up to tendogs on weekdays to the park and the reservoir lands to the south."I think it'll just become a great bigmudholethat pretty much nobody else is going to feel that they can use," said Richards.

He fears there will be a "huge conflict" between mountain bikers and others who enjoy thegreenspace now, likerunners who train on the park'sold ski slope,dogwalkers, and otherswhoexercisetogether there.

Ryan Janssens, who walks his dog twice daily in the park, disagrees."It's a huge hill.I'm sure everyone will get along," he said.

Janssens believesthe area needs more recreation opportunities for the families living there. "There's lots of baseballs fields, but that's more of an organized sport. Biking you can go out and do on your own, any time you want."

'Our goal is not to take over the park'

"Our goal is not to take over the park...and prevent other uses. That's the whole point of community consultation," saidOMBA'sDavid Marchand-Smith. Thebike park has been a part of his imagination for Carlingtonsince he lived and walked his dog in the area.

OMBAfirsttook the idea to the citynearly fouryears ago.Since then, Marchand-Smith says the group's focus has been onmaking the design fit in with the centralOttawa location.

"A lot of the bikeparks that I've seen elsewhere, I don'tfind particularly aestheticallypleasing. A lot of them look like a constructionsite, frankly. For us, landscaping is a major factor. We want this thing to look nice, as well as be fun to ride," he said.

"We really think it's an addition to the park, not something that would take away from it."

Environmental assessment promised

OMBA says the park would be designed and constructed using sustainable, environmentally protective trailbuilding practices to reduce erosion. TheCarlington Community Association would bring in a third-party environmental assessmentto ensure native species and natural habitats aren't destroyed, according to president Cameron Ketchum.

Ketchumwants to assure residents the decision won't be rushed.. "We're still getting feedback. If we get to a point where we need to take a bit more time say, over the summer, then, we'll do that."

The results of the survey will guide a formal motion on whether or not toapprovethe OMBAplan at the community association'sannual general meeting on May 25.