The region’s mountain bikers have welcomed a decision by Central Coast Council to hold off on looking into a dedicated facility for the sport being established outside environmental lands.
Councillors rejected a motion from Deputy Mayor Jane Smith which would effectively have seen bikers excluded from riding in Coastal Open Space System (COSS) lands.
Cr Smith told fellow councillors the environmental integrity of COSS lands, which were established 36 years ago by Gosford Council in the face of community opposition, was under threat from damage inflicted by bikers.
She was backed by Councillor Louise Greenaway, who said while mountain bike riding was exhilarating, the sport was “death by a thousand cuts” for environmentally sensitive land.
“There is only so much the bush can tolerate,” she said.
But Leif Arnebark, a representative of the Central Coast Mountain Bike Club and a member of the Central Coast Mountain Bike Trail Alliance, told councillors during the public forum preceding the meeting that the Coast was a perfect environment for mountain bikers, yet had not one single metre of sanctioned mountain bike trail within its natural spaces.
Arnebark said the sport had no more environmental footprint than bushwalking and that the National Parks and Wildlife Service considers mountain bike trails to be an appropriate use of natural space.
“Residents and tourists who engage in active lifestyle pursuits within bushland grow to value that,” he said.
“It is time instead to focus on the positives that this amazing form of recreation offers Central Coast residents.”
He said mountain bike riding was good for physical health, mental health, social interactions and conservation and could potentially be an economic driver through ecotourism.
He said mountain biking essentially only occurs within environmental lands, with bushland being intrinsic to the sport.
“Removing mountain biking from the bush is like trying to remove surfing from the beach, one simply does not exist without the other,” he said.
He called instead for a mountain biking strategy which formalises a sustainable trail network.
Fellow rider Jonathan Curtis said the terminology of the motion appeared to be intentionally vague and suggested an ignorance of what mountain biking is.
“Much of the reason that I ride a mountain bike is to get into environmental spaces and appreciate the connection with nature that this type of recreation provides,” he said.
“I am a PhD candidate in sociology and part of my research explores how nature-based recreation leads to sentiments of environmental stewardship.”
Councillor Bruce McLachlan said the Coast’s land had to be shared by the whole community.
Councillor Chris Holstein said while he was a great supporter of COSS, he preferred to wait for the results of a feasibility study currently away.
After lengthy debate, councillors voted to defer action pending the results of the feasibility study and establish a working party to look into options for a sustainable trail network, with more community consultation to take place.
Terry Collins