Public Meeting on Mountain Biking in Monroe County Parks

Important public meeting on mountain biking in Monroe County Parks to take place on November 25.

Monroe County Parks Department is unveiling the preliminary master plan for the Bay Area Parks (Ellison, Ellison Wetlands (aka Rifle Range), Tryon, Bay Park East & West and Devil's Cove) at a public input workshop. This will be your major opportunity to have your voice heard on some far reaching and controversial decisions regarding these parks, and setting a precedent for the remainder of the park system. The meeting is being held at the Penfield Town Hall at 3100 Atlantic Avenue, just east of Jackson Road.

From 6-7 PM there is a public workshop, from 7-7:30 there is a presentation, and from 7:30 to 8:30 is questions and comments. You do not have to speak in public to have your views known. You can find more information on the plan and meeting at http://www.monroecounty.gov/parks-index.php

One of the most important issues to be addressed in the revised plans will be whether, and to what extent, mountain biking (which is now prohibited in all County parks) will be permitted in these parks. GVC-ADK's position on this issue, which was developed by a Chapter subcommittee, approved by our Chapter's Executive Committee, and communicated to the Parks Department and the engineer last spring, recommends allowing mountain biking on one of the parks, either Tryon Park or Bay Park West. Under our policy, mountain biking would be permitted in the selected park on a trial basis and only on a properly designed and maintained mountain biking trail. All other mountain biking in the County parks would remain unlawful. (The ADK-GVC policy statement appears in its entirety below.)

The time and place of the Parks meeting are tentative. Check back here or check the ADK hotline (987-1717), under conservation, for any changes.

It is very important that as many Chapter members as possible attend the public meeting on November 25 and make their views concerning the revised master plans known, either orally or by means of written comments submitted at or after the meeting.

We are major users of these parks. Countless Chapter members have hiked the park trails, and many of us have contributed our time and effort in performing various volunteer projects in one or more of these parks. We feel that the Chapter's policy is a sound one, since it balances the desire of some people to mountain bike in the County parks against the ecological and safety concerns involved in opening up all of the foot trails in the parks to mountain biking. By attending the meeting on November 25 and making your views known, you will show parks officials that while there are some voices in the community who are only interested in one form of recreation in the County parks, the majority of parks users hold a view that preserves our precious parks resources at the same time that it provides for one group's specific recreational interest.

ADK-GVC Views on Mountain Biking in Certain Monroe County Parks

Executive Committee
Adirondack Mountain Club
Genesee Valley Chapter
October 2008
[View as PDF (210 kb)]

Currently, mountain biking is illegal in all Monroe County Parks. However, it has come to our attention that Monroe County has enlisted the services of an engineering firm to develop new master plans for five of the County parks–Ellison Park, Tryon Park, the Wetlands, Irondequoit Bay Park East, and Irondequoit Bay Park West–and that those plans may include provisions allowing mountain biking in some or all of the parks in question. As an organization with a long connection with, and an in-depth knowledge about, these parks¹, the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK-GVC) considers it important to provide the following input on how the mountain biking issue should be addressed in the forthcoming master plans:

1. ADK-GVC encourages the responsible recreational use of the forest and water resources of Monroe County. We believe that mountain biking is a legitimate form of outdoor recreation which we support, provided that it is carried on in a responsible manner.

2. In view of the large amount of acreage involved in the proposed master plans, we feel that it would be appropriate to provide for mountain biking on some of the lands in question, provided that the place where mountain biking is permitted, and the conditions under which it is permitted, are established in a way that assures to the fullest extent possible that the sport is practiced in a manner that does not present safety hazards to the public, does not cause physical damage to the environment of the parks, does not create undue disturbance to park wildlife, and does not interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the park by other members of the public.

3. We oppose a blanket policy that would declare the existing foot trails in Elllison Park, the Wetlands, Tryon Park, Irondequoit Bay Park East, and Irondequoit Bay Park West to be multi-use trails, which could be used by mountain bikers and pedestrians alike. At first glance, such a blanket policy sounds fair to all users of the parks, but upon a closer examination it can be seen to create several problems.

   1. Merely opening all existing trails to mountain biking would create significant safety hazards for people walking the trails, and could also raise significant liability issues for Monroe County. Many of the existing trails do not provide sufficient visibility to permit mountain bikers enough time to avoid collisions with pedestrians, and do not afford pedestrians a place to move off the trail quickly in order to avoid being hit by a mountain biker. Members of our Chapter have already experienced close calls with illegal bikers approaching them from behind at considerable speed and with little warning.

   2. Opening existing hiking trails to mountain biking would present a safety hazard to mountain bikers. Mountain biking trails need to include properly designed switchbacks at strategic locations in order to keep bikers from riding at dangerously high speeds or losing control of their bikes. Structures such as stairs and water diversion bars that exist on some of the hiking trails in the County parks can be hazardous to mountain bikers

   3. Declaring most or all existing foot trails open to mountain biking would damage the environment of the parks. The narrow grooves caused by bicycle tires running in the same general direction as existing foot trails increase the risk of soil erosion by creating channels for rain water to wash soil away. Just as foot trails must be properly designed to minimize erosion, so mountain biking trails need to be properly designed to deal with the specific erosion problems caused by bicycle tires. Moreover, mountain bikers often go around structures such as stairs and water diversion bars that have been installed to minimize soil erosion. By going around such obstacles, mountain bikers risk damaging or destroying existing vegetation along the sides of the trails, thus contributing to the damage these structures are designed to prevent. (Some of these structures on the Rifle Range Trail in the Wetlands have already been torn out by persons unknown.)

   4. Mountain biking trails must be properly maintained in order to minimize the safety and ecological problems discussed above. However, Monroe County does not have sufficient resources to provide trail maintenance over a large trail system. Moreover, it is unrealistic to expect volunteers from the mountain biking community to maintain a very large, complex trail system.

   5. Mountain biking trails should be designed and built with mountain biking in mind to minimize the foregoing safety and ecological problems, and to provide an interesting, challenging experience for mountain bikers. A good example of a properly built mountain biking trail is the one constructed on Dryer Road in the Town of Victor.

   6. We propose a trial project in which a single mountain biking trail network is designed and constructed in either Bay Park West or Tryon Park. Those parks have sufficient hills to serve as worthwhile locations for mountain biking trails. Construction of this trail network will involve building new mountain biking trails and/or reconfiguring existing foot trails, depending upon the site. Having one park specifically designated for mountain biking may also help discourage illegal mountain biking in the other parks. Creation and maintenance of a single trail network would not place an undue economic burden on the infrastructure of the County parks.

   7. The foregoing trail network would be constructed and maintained by the County, with help from volunteers. (Volunteers have been major participants in the construction and maintenance of the Dryer Road trail system.) It is likely that avid mountain bikers, either individually or through the organizations to which they belong, would be able to provide an acceptable level of trail maintenance if their efforts were focused on a single location.

   8. The foregoing trail network would be open to mountain biking as a test project. At the end of the first year of operation, the success of the project would be assessed by the County, with public input. If the operation of the trail network is deemed to be acceptable, consideration could then be given to creating a second mountain biking trail network.

   9. The new master plans should provide for adequate signage making it clear to members of the public those trails on which mountain biking is prohibited, and those trails on which mountain biking is permitted.

The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is dedicated to the protection and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, and other parks, wild lands, and waters vital to our members and chapters. The Club, founded in 1922, is a member-directed organization committed to public service and stewardship. ADK employs a balanced approach to outdoor recreation, advocacy, environmental education, and natural resource conservation.

< <   Corrections? Updates?   Contact   > >

Main Club Home Page and Chapter List
-Top of Page-