| Cyclists and dog owners: get ready to walk in the boots of snowmobilers and
off-road motorcyclists. As the city begins public consultations into future recreational use of Nose Hill Park, those making the decisions should seriously consider banning bikes and doggies – if not permanently, at least temporarily.
The City of Calgary website cites "uncontrolled trail proliferation" as a major problem – among others. Barring bikers and dogs from roaming at will on Nose Hill serves as the only true means to protect "this treasured resource for the enjoyment of generations to come."
As the city grows, so does the number of visitors to the northwest park. The city’s parks department wants to develop a plan to manage this increased use and minimize damage to the hill. To do so, things have to change. While pedestrians also degrade natural areas, I’d bet bikers are the leaders in creating most of the new "informal and undesignated" trails snaking throughout Nose Hill.
Now if this was a sandpit, that wouldn’t be a problem. It is a great place to ride a bike, offering challenging hill climbs, long flat sections to pick up speed and a never-ending supply of blue sky. Nose Hill, however, is an environmental area housing plants and animals that are becoming harder to find in this rapidly growing city.
As suggested on the city’s website, trail sprawl will kill the hill. Plants will disappear after repeatedly being trampled and ridden upon, and more and more invasive species will take their place. Unchecked, Nose Hill will soon become Dandelion Dale or the non-grassy knoll.
Dogs aren’t a big cause of illicit trail growth, but they aren’t always friendly to hill users and residents. Even though there’s a great off-leash park running parallel to John Laurie Blvd., many dog owners enjoy taking their poochies to Nose Hill for a stroll. Can’t blame them. But, when their dogs bite other pedestrians – I had a buddy bitten twice on the hill – and chase the resident deer and other animals, something’s got to go. Let’s make it the dogs. If we can designate parks as off-leash zones, why not make others as dog-free zones?
Banning bikes and dogs from specified recreation areas isn’t without precedent. Motorbikes and snowmobiles are constantly being banned from natural areas for generating noise and damaging the environment. (In December a Quebec court ruled residents living near snowmobile trails could sue municipalities for being subjected to the noise of snowmobiles.)
Perhaps the ban would only be a temporary measure – say for five years. If nothing else, it would at least give the parks folks a chance to measure changes to the park without bikes and dogs in the equation.
If results showed the degradation decreased during that period, the ban could become permanent. If not, then other measures would have to be introduced.
For now, ban dogs and bikes, so that pedestrians can enjoy using the approximately 320 kilometres of trails without fear of contributing to further degradation of the hill by inadvertently following a "new" trail.
Don’t like the suggestion? Go talk to a snowmobiler or off-road motorbiker – they seem to find places to recreate despite being restricted from here, there and everywhere. |
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