Trail Use Changes
We were very disappointed the council didn’t allow comments on trail use changes or the bike skills area. The city staff sets the agenda, the council is supposed to stick to it, and they did.

However, Councilman Wolowicz, referring to your letters and comments calling for trail use changes, asked if staff would bring these issues back. Staff said it could happen when the final document is up for approval by the council. That means we may get another chance in a few months, so hang in there.

Night Rides
The preserve is considered a city park so no one is allowed there one hour after sunset. This means the CORBA South Bay Mountain Bike Club weekly ride and three weekly Sierra Club hikes in the preserve at night were prohibited.

CORBA asked the city to allow these activities by changing the closing time to 9:00 PM or by issuing a permit to recognized groups. Unfortunately, the local Sierra Club leaders were adamant that bikes not be allowed, saying “We agree as a group that if permitting after-dark access for Sierra Club hikes is going to open up after-dark access to mountain biking, then the risk of damage to the Preserve is so great that we would prefer that no one have such access.”

The council was divided on the issue and eventually voted to allow Sierra Club hikes but only once a month instead of three times a week. Biking was shut out altogether. The issue left some questions open, so it may find its way back to the city in the near future.

Bike Skills Area
Even though it wasn’t on the agenda, Councilman Long did try very hard to address the bikes skills area. In the end, all three councilmen said they supported the concept and voted to place it on a future agenda. The question will be, where to place it.