The Courier-Journal recently reported that the Louisville Dog Run Association (LDRA) had convinced city leaders to add a 3 acre fenced-in dog run area to Cherokee Park.
The LDRA President went straight to the Mayor’s office many years ago, bypassing our “glacier-like” (ie- slow moving) Metro Parks, in order to get the results they wanted.
There are a couple of lessons to be learned for the off-road crowd.
The LDRA has a long-serving President whose tenacity and vision were keys to getting the dog run added.
As immediate past President of the local off-road cycling group, my biggest regret is not going directly to our elected officials much earlier in my tenure. I waited until Metro Parks had almost killed mountain biking here in Louisville. To give you an idea of what one simple advocacy letter can do, compare our “pre-letter” situation with our “post-letter” results.
Pre-letter
Parks refused to discuss the future of mountain biking here in Louisville
Parks refused our efforts of trail work assistance at Cherokee (for the first time ever)
Circumstantial evidence pointed to the closure of all mtb trails at Cherokee
Parks refused to allow our group to do trail work during the last half of 2005 at Waverly
Parks made no mtb mention whatsoever in their 2005 Bike Friendly presentation
Post-letter
Parks immediately began hosting regular meetings with our group
Parks reversed course and accepted our offers of help at Cherokee Park
Parks reversed course and allowed us to continue trail work at Waverly
The Mayor’s office invited us to participate in his Memorial and Labor Day Bike Rides
Metro Council requests our group to submit an RTP grant thru them
The second lesson learned from the LDRA success story is that a long-serving President with strong leadership skills is needed in dealing with Metro Parks. Parks has long taken advantage of our relatively short leadership tenures over the years. In order to have a meeting you often have to wait months, then nothing comes out of the meeting, and a second one is then scheduled many months later. By that time the leadership has changed hands and the process starts all over.
This helps to explain why back in 1995 Louisville stood on the verge of having one of the largest trail systems around. We could have easily become a mountain biking destination had Metro Parks not turned so mountain biking unfriendly. At that time we actually had access to part of 7,000 acre Jefferson Memorial Forest. Unfortunately, over a full decade later, we have less acreage to ride on as parks continues to maintain an elitist family unfriendly approach to our public natural surface trails.
Here we go again?
Here we go again?
I too was a bit shocked by
I too was a bit shocked by this, especially given the cost $85,000!
But in reality its probably the city/MP protection themselves from future litigation. Presently dog hill is a non sanctioned gathering place for dog owners. And it violates the cities own leash law on a daily basis. However if you designate a spot, fence it in, and put up warning signs with rules then you likely won't lose many future lawsuits.