I haven't seen an update from SDMBA, and Rich usually communicates via emptybeer, so I copied this update he posted over there, becuz i think it's great news we DT'ers should hear (the rest of the thread is the usual fruitless arguing & insults about Calaveras trails).

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taffy15
mtbr member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 271 It is slow going but it will get done!

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Missing in Action
At this point, I'm guessing it's still easier for dirt jumpers to build illegally, than to navigate the political process.


Illegal easier? Hell yes it is. Will it make jumps likely in Calaveras? Not longer then it takes to have them discovered and taken down. Ask yourself;
Have I participated in local trail events with the land managers?
Have I joined SDMBA?
Have I tried to attend local meetings in Cbad or Oside?
Have I tried to contact SDMBA and find out how to get involved or talk to?
Have I read Eric Trodgens announcements in MTBR and acted on any?
Well here are two unreal guys who are doing the heavy lifting and here is their report.
Now what are you going to do? Or do you need to lose another Flightline?

---- Matt Merritt wrote:
> Erik,
>
> Here is a recap of the Oceanside Bicycle Committee meeting I attended this
morning:
>
> SDMBA Members present:Â Matt Merritt (Boardmember), Erik Mickelson
>
> City of Oceanside officials present: Esther Sanchez (Councilwoman), Steve
Tisdale (Bicycle Cmte.), Nathan Mertz (Parks & Rec)
>
> To start the meeting, I gave an update on the progress of the Bicycle Skills
Park plan. I had the Preliminary Grading Plan we submitted to the Water
Authority and the 11 comments we received back. We reviewed the comments item
by item. The City of Oceanside agreed to help with comments #3, 5, 7, 9, 10.Â
The major contributions provided by the City of Oceanside where dealing with the
CEQA compliance, where they will be submitting documents for exempt, and the
health and safety plan. These are major items out of our areas of expertise
and will be a huge help to the process. Howard LaGrange admitted all the work
to date has been done by SDMBA and it was time for the City of Oceanside to step
up. Steve Tisdale agreed.
>
> Next Erik Mickelson gave an excellent presentation on possible XC sites,
including the Gateway XC site adjacent to the skills park and Tuley Canyon. He
included slides on sustainable design, why singletrack is better, had gps and
google earth shots of the sites and generally wowed the audience with his
enthusiasm. Councilwoman Esther Sanchez was particularly impressed and
followed up with a call to Erik M. after the meeting and wants to set up a
meeting to discuss mountain biking in Oceanside. This is our big in to the
higher ups. Erik M. will be contacting the Councilwoman and will set up a
meeting for us to attend. We can further discuss the Bike Park with her as
well to make some serious headway. If she can champion the idea at the
council, then she gets invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony, right? There
are many players to deal with on the XC sites, including a few hardcore
environmentalists. It will be a long process, but Erik M.
> has the enthusiasm to see it through.
>
> After the meeting Erik M. and I spoke with Nathan Mertz for a few minutes.Â
He identified and additional possible XC site referred to as "Pilgrim Creek"
that is managed by CNLM and has City of Oceanside property adjacent to it. We
will be figuring out the best way to contact CNLM and inquire about trails at
the site.
>
> There you have it.
>
> Matt

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Thus, if we are to understand the world, we should live somewhere between judgement and amazement — Alfredo Lopez Austin

Thanks for the post Dan. We were back meeting with City of Oceanside officials yesterday regarding the bicycle skills park and possible multi-use trail sites. Positive things are happening and most importantly....the City of Oceanside wants what we are offering. The hard part will be navigating the approval process and dealing with the various agencies. The BSP is close, trails will take longer. Public comment meetings will be coming up and support from the mountain biking community will be needed. I will post up when I know more.

Great work guys. This has to beat the current approach of keep building stuff and once a month, the bulldozers come out to knock it down. The latest being the telephone pole jumps between the lake and the riparian park. Persistant little buggers though.

That's great to see city officials and councilmembers actively involved in the planning of the bike park. Hopefully, this rubs off on the people involved in local San Diego government.

Councilmember Sanchez will be a good ally. Altho I live in Vista, I've followed the O'side politics in the papers for years. The other councilmembers in the developers' pocket don't like her, but that's because she's independent and votes her own mind. I spent a while talking to her and her dad at a friend's casual party recently. I liked her. She loves her community and the folks who live there, and wants what's best for them, which apparently can include both environmental preservation (save El Salto falls!) and the bike park we seek.

_________________
Thus, if we are to understand the world, we should live somewhere between judgement and amazement — Alfredo Lopez Austin