Did anyone see the recent “Pavilion filthy” letter to the editor in our Courier Journal? A local volunteer organization rented Hays Kennedy Park for a picnic. Approximately 100 guests attended only to find the pavilion “filthy and the restroom unbearable.” The writer goes on to add “Not only were there no seats on the toilets, the toilets did not work, and had been used but not flushed.”
This is pretty-much par for the course for Metro Parks. Poorly maintained facilities and often times dissatisfied visitors.
I’ve recently made advocacy submittals to key members of our Metro Council, outlining the quick and easy fix for Metro Parks woes- PRIVATIZATION. (I also made sure to include plenty of supporting information in regards to their poor use of resources and elitist closed-door decision making.)
Privatization is a well-established technique for improving the delivery of government services. By exchanging the creativity of the marketplace for government monopoly, privatization can often lower costs, improve service levels and allow government to focus on its core responsibilities (the health, safety and well-being of its citizens).
Privatization should also spell the end to parks decades long Elitist Trail Policies that cater only to the fortunate few. Did you know that every major trail system here in Jefferson County is open, either partially or all, to horses? Yet the working class family, that can only afford a mountain bike, only has access to 3 venues here in Jefferson County (2 of which they only have partial access to).
The first responsibility of citizenship is self-governance. By not participating in the political process, and simply leaving the advocacy work to others, you end up with the current unfair system. The needs of special interests (read equestrians) have been catered to over the years, while the volunteer efforts and monies of local mountain bikers have largely been ignored.
With rising gas prices, why should we, the taxpayers, be forced to drive all the way to Otter Creek to enjoy a long ride on a mountain bike? Ask yourself the following:
Why did Metro Parks kick us out of Iroquois Park? And, more importantly, when are we going to be allowed back in? Road racers race in the park, the cyclocross group has held races in the park, but mountain bikers, who are actually willing and able to pitch in and shore up the trail system, are denied access.
Why did Metro Parks kick us out of Jefferson Memorial Forest? And more importantly, when will we regain access? How long can these elitist anti-democratic policies exist?
So long as you sit on the sideline, and do nothing, you’ll get nothing in return. Current local “leadership” fully supports these elitist policies and gushes effusively on how “generous” parks is(? go figure). It’s clear that only by your direct advocacy to our elected officials can we hope to regain access to the trails we’ve lost.
Hey Don, I would hope that
Hey Don, I would hope that with the nice weather out you would be able to go out and ride and not just sit inside and stew on all of these topics. Just my $0.02 but I think the current leadership of KYMBA is doing a banner job (I'm not in a leadership position). Dulin has done more for Mountain biking in Lou Metro in the past year than anyone has managed to accomplish during the past several years. Along with that, great strides have been made to take KYMBA state wide. I arranged a meeting with Commerce Secretary Ward and all of the leaders of state parks to discuss opening all parks up to MTB's. They agreed to allow us to do a pilot in a park and then work on expanding that statewide. My main point in scheduling that meeting was to get some other places outside of the metro for people to ride. When the governor released the Eastern KY Adventure Tourism study MTBers were among the best represented. We had approx. 10 minutes of face time with the Governor directly (He now has a KYMBA shirt). Dulin, Gene and myself made the trip from Louisville, Paul Rose came up from Jackson Co. and another guy from Berea (sorry I'm horrible with names). All of those mentioned attended the Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority meeting as well as the Study unveiling. I hope you'll take a moment to look over the study which is available at:
http://tourism.ky.gov/krta/
Things are looking up, why not try to support this momentum???
I hope you have a great weekend, I do mean that, cheer up.
Pat
Pat, thanks so much for
Pat, thanks so much for caring about my well-being. Just so you won’t worry, this weekend I participated in the inaugural 12 hrs. of Canal Loop, and plan to be back on the bike again tomorrow night.
In regards to your statement “Dulin has done more for Mountain biking in Lou Metro in the past year than anyone has managed to accomplish during the past several years.” I say kudos to Mr. Dulin.
Since you’re the self-anointed arbitrator of local accomplishments, please bring me up to speed on what I’ve missed during the past year.
During my tenure we officially opened up Waverly Park to mountain biking, with yours truly negotiating/signing a very detailed Land Adoption agreement, that even included the signature of our mayor.
Question: what major piece of mountain biking property has opened during the last year?
Did Jefferson Memorial Forest get opened back up to mountain biking? (Remember we were kicked out years ago.)
Did Iroquois Park get opened back up to mountain biking? (We were also kicked out of there years ago.)
Or, are you referring to the Floyds Fork Park (equestrian) trail system that will open sometime during the next decade?
More importantly, before I departed I let our local “leaders” know that one of our Metro Council persons was actually requesting our group to submit an RTP grant directly through them, because Metro Parks had failed on their last two attempts.
As a member of the RTP board in Frankfort, I can state that NO ONE submitted an RTP on behalf of the local mountain biking group. Why? Metro Parks didn’t want local mountain bikers to submit the RTP.
The importance of the RTP can not be overstated.
The ONLY RTP ever received by the local mtb group was submitted and completed by yours truly, OVER the OBJECTIONS of Metro Parks. I actually had to go to the then city of Louisville Finance Director to get permission. (It’s unimaginable that someone would do this today.) This RTP grant, that Metro Parks opposed, fattened our bank account by thousands of dollars. Our tools, jerseys/shorts, bridge materials, trail work supplies, Pay Dirt socks (does anyone remember those, another ball dropped,) etc. were all due to the RTP.
Furthermore, the RTP is set up to support local groups and organizations more so than government entities, which is why a local group automatically gets a higher score on part of the application than does local or state government. So why didn’t our local mountain bikers take advantage of this?
Local leadership’s top priority is pleasing Metro Parks, if mountain bikers benefit fine, if not, please see top priority. Not surprising that in your response, you make a couple of non-specific mentions about the local scene, and immediately shift to discussing state wide efforts (once again, exactly what Metro Parks wants, as it takes the pressure off them). But is it really what local mountain bikers want? (Remember the topic is about Metro Parks- Privatization and their decade plus assault on mountain biking.)
The letter writer for the “Pavilion Filthy” letter to the editor wasn’t afraid to speak honestly, and publicly, in regards to Metro Parks inefficiencies. I just can’t see anyone of the local “leaders” submitting a similar letter to the editor, or speaking out against closed-door decision making and the elitist trail policies in place.
I can certainly relate to the letter writer’s comments. The last race I helped with at Otter Creek we paid $643.50 to host the event and Metro Parks didn’t raise one finger, and did absolutely nothing, besides reserving a pavilion for us. We had to do all of the pre-race trail work, and got zero support from parks. The difference between today and back then, is that I let our elected council persons and the mayor know about it, and encouraged everyone else to do so.
My suggestions would be to look at the facts, and act accordingly. I just can’t buy into this blind allegiance to Metro Parks
Not allegiance to Parks,
Not allegiance to Parks, Don, allegiance to mountain biking and a commitment to a stronger mountain bike community in KY.
I think we all know how great you are and how much you - all by yourself - did for all the mountain bikers in Louisville for all those years. Naturally, no subsequent leaders will ever be as strong and dedicated and smart and crafty as you. I think most of us have gotten the point. Of course, you truly are right about one very important point (although, you're always right so we shouldn't be surprised) - we still can't ride our mountain bikes at Jefferson Memorial Forest, or Iroquois Park, or McNeely lake or Miles or Floyds Fork or any other park, and that really is a damn shame. I'd like nothing more than to ride my mountain bike at the Jefferson Memorial Forest and I've pleaded the case over and over to everyone at Parks and Metro Council even further up the leadership chain. In fact, we've asked members of other bike and recreation groups to plead for us, too. Do I think it's unfair? Absolutely! Will I canvas the papers looking for more tales of Metro Parks ineptitude? Doubt it. So honestly, do you really think we're all gushy with joy over our 30-plus minute drives to our existing 25 miles of trail when a 5000 acre parcel is staring back at us from across the airport runways? Do you really think because no new trails have been opened this year we're all just a bunch of patsies and yes-men for Parks leaders cooing with content over the status quo? Come on, man, you've got to be kidding me. That's like suggesting that you intentionally sabotage RTP applications from Metro Parks because you don't like Metro Parks staff and want something to crow about.
That said, I feel bad you've been in the dark about all that's going on elsewhere, so let me take a minute to fill you in and expand a bit on what Pat has described.
After we rebuilt the credibility of mountain bikers in Louisville (nice exit, by the way - your letters really helped our cause), a handful of us spent a chunk of the last year serving on boards, making calls, meeting with land managers around KY (including Louisville) and introducing ourselves (and KyMBA) to as many people as we could - basically being as friendly as possible and trying to get mountain bikers around the Commonwealth to stand up and be counted. Not because we're trying to distract everyone from our big ol failure here in Louisville, but because we understand how high the stakes are around KY. Lot's of golf courses in our state parks, but not a lot of mountain bike trails. We can't ride a mountain bike on Fish and Wildlife land because of some funny language in their lease with the Army Corps of Engineers, but you can take an atv in there if you're packing heat with an aim to kill. Those are the sorts of funny things we've been trying to rectify. God damn we're misguided, aren't we?
And just so the good people have a better understanding of how these sorts of things work OUTSIDE of Louisville, let me shed a little light on the nature of Kentucky's other "family un-friendly trail policies".
The KY Horse Council sits on a couple of million dollars in endowment money, has real offices at the KY Horse park, has a paid staff and represents "over ten thousand equestrians" around the state. Horses appear on our license plates, our state literature, state business cards, road signs - the list goes on. When Sheik Mohammad buys one horse for $9 million dollars at the spring Keeneland sales, it makes international news. (by comparison, when a hand surgeon from Louisville buys a $4000 mountain bike, it generally does not.) More importantly, horses are allowed in federally designated wilderness areas (mountain bikes are not) which makes it quite a bit easier for them to gain or maintain access to other open spaces and many conservation or recreation easements are crafted around this designation. Nice little precedent. I don't agree with it, but all we can do is work harder to change it.
Also, let's not forget about our motorized friends. The KY ATV and OHV groups get big sponsorship dollars from major equipment manufacturers and can spend a lot more money on advertising, land purchases, development of their own private trail systems and promotion of their activities. I suspect everyone has heard of Kawasaki and Suzuki - well, they spend some money in KY, because they saw how well it worked in West VA.
These groups also have lobbyists and lawyers and PR firms and they all have big head counts and they all want to use the same land and trails that mountain bikers do. These are also the groups that stand in line with a hand out come RTP time and the same groups that show up at USFS meetings and State Parks meetings and all the other public input meetings around the state. Mountain biking hasn't quite gotten that big in KY, but we thought we'd try to make a change anyway. Heaven help us for standing up in the face of adversity - what chumps we must be.
My point here is, there is way more to Kentucky than Louisville and there are far more groups out there than just mountain bikers. Current KyMBA leadership is doing our collective best to build a strong and unified community of mountain bikers so that when the time comes to meet with the Governor (again) and tell him how many mountain bikers there are in KY, we can say without hesitation - "several thousand; and our trails are so good, people come from out of state to ride them." That's called an active constituency, and it's what we're gunning for. Although, since we're doing it by trying to rally people around some positive messages and progressive thinking, we must be girly men.
So I'm sure you'll have a big old retort for me, just like you did for Pat. You always do get the last word in, you crafty fox you. I'm going to guess that you'll have a comment about how we referred to parks as "generous" in our letter and how all us young people can't lead worth a damn and how we're just doing the parks dirty work and how blind we are and maybe a few new zingers you've worked up. Then you'll wag out your "facts" that you keep on your nightstand and then, in a few weeks, you'll come back with some new scoop on how derelict our parks are, how bad Metro parks managers are and you'll undoubtedly include me or Gene or Pat or some other soul in your tirade. But that's fine, because that's what you do and that's what we expect and god love you for it.
In closing, though, I do want to fill you in on what's new in Louisville, too. There is a new trail system in Cherokee Park - both sides of the creek - that when complete will be an 8.5 mile loop of new, legal singletrack - and that doesn't include any of the wilderness loop or golf courses. First section is done, more to come in October, should be done by the holidays, a large majority of the trail built by the paid staff at the Olmsted Parks Conservancy. Once again though, we had to rebuild the relationship before we could build trails. We're also working on plans for a dirt-jump/ freeride/ pumptrack near downtown, but that might take us a couple months. Pesky lawyers. Moving on - Waverly park is as fun as ever and I'm being sincere when I say we should all thank you for that. But Waverly also has a nice new re-route that was cut entirely with that Dingo you bought for Metro Parks with all that grant money you secured. They also used it to bring in some rocks for armoring and more rocks for optional skills lines and they used it to bring in wood for bridges and power tools to cut trees and all that fun stuff (pussies). It's worth noting, too, that when I say "they" used it, I mean Metro Parks staff people were out cutting trail - on the clock - during the work week - with no volunteer assistance. In fact, the reroute was initiated, laid out and largely constructed by Parks employee, Larry Hilton and his staff. He even lent us a generator for our race. Of course, there is still some finish work to do, but it's been super hot and it's hard to get volunteers out to help during racing season. Since we weren't busy enough, though, we've also gotten involved in all the planning meetings for Floyds Fork and I've managed to get on the FF Recreational Advisory Board with a few other mountain bikers, but gosh dern it, those trails are 20 years out and those horse people keep coming to the meetings, too. You'd think they've always been there. Imagine, horses in eastern Jefferson County, Henry County, Oldham County and Spencer County. Who'd a thunk it?
Of course, there's still the Forest and Iroquois and all that other damn open space we can't ride in - and it sure would be nice to ride in any of those places. But maybe instead of your pre-packaged retort about how pitiful and girly we all are and how backwards those damn Parks employees are or bad we have it here in Louisville - maybe you can write your next letter to the Governor thanking him for the $700K he gave to Eastern KY and the millions more he put in the bank, or a letter to the Mayor of Lexington thanking him for hosting the bike summit and including mountain bikers at the table, or maybe - heaven forbid - maybe you can call the friendly staff at Louisville Metro Parks and offer to help them properly craft their next RTP application so next time, when the submittals are in, we poor unfortunate souls here in Jefferson County finally get some money for trails.
But then, what would you do with all that free time?
Mike thats for the update.
Mike thats for the update. Good to see what you all are working on. Best of luck.
Mike, kudos’ once again
Mike, kudos’ once again for your volunteer efforts!
(In the interest of full-disclosure, Mike is a former Metro Parks employee.)
In addition, thanks for taking the time to provide an overall picture on the status of mountain biking here in the state.
You talked about having to rebuild the “credibility of mountain bikers in Louisville.” It’s simply wrong that mountain bikers have a credibility issue. Is there a little kowtowing to Metro Parks decidedly skewed version of things going on here? Let’s talk a little more about credibility and find out.
Mountain Bikers Credibility
Secured thousands of dollars in grant funding for our local trails.
Volunteered over 1,000 hours annually building trails for our community.
Built custom bridges and a bike rack and installed a Kiosk.
Held races in our local parks, providing Metro Parks with thousands of dollars in revenue
Brought IMBA’s Trail Care Crew to Louisville in 2003 & 2005
Hosted Take A Kid Mountain Biking
IMBA Rep. located here in town
Secured a seat on state RTP Board
Metro Parks Credibility
Didn’t make ONE mention of mountain biking during the highly publicized Bike Summit held back in 2005, in which the city hoped to show the entire country just how “Bike Friendly” we were
Well over one year later Parks Director of Propaganda failed to participate in the Bike Friendly Application process, despite repeated phone calls and e-mails from a planning director at TARC.
Attempted to mis-use a $10,000 trail grant (secured by yours truly) for non-approved purposes.
Kicked us out of Jefferson Memorial Forest & Iroquois Park, and almost banished us from Cherokee.
I could go on and on, but it’s METRO PARKS that has a credibility problem, not local mountain bikers. So please, quit trying to hang this guilt trip around mountain biker’s necks, all the while covering up for your former employer.
Olmsted Conservancy Credibility
You mentioned “we had to rebuild the relationship before we could build trails.” Why continually put mountain bikers in a bad light? I’m proud of all the hard work, dedication and volunteerism provided by local mountain bikers. There’s nothing we had to rebuild, it’s the other way around, Olmsted needed to rebuild the relationship, not us!
Remember everyone, the reason we got booted out of Iroquois Park is because the former long-serving head of Olmsted willfully misled the public and our elected officials by claiming that trails that would support horses wouldn’t support mountain bikes.
(This is also the same excuse Metro Parks was using for years when they kicked us out of Jefferson Memorial Forest, I know because I talked directly w/representatives of our local government. Once again, the credibility issue is with the purposely misleading statements and actions by parks, not mountain bikers.)
Olmsted also didn’t support the RTP I secured for the betterment of our community. As stated above, I actually had to bypass both Olmsted & Metro Parks and go to the then city of Louisville finance director for permission. Does this sound like the “friendly staff” described in Mike’s response?
Metro Parks is funded by our tax dollars, and should be expected to function as PUBLIC SERVANTS. They’ve been anything but, and the sooner something is done about that bureaucratic monopoly over on Trevilian Way the better.
RTP History
Speaking of the RTP, thanks for suggesting that I assist Metro Parks on their next submittal. But I’ve already “been-there, done-that.” I tried to assist the Director of Natural Areas (or whatever their title is today) and was greeted with a typical Metro Parks smug, nose-up-in-the-air, “no thanks.” (This information was shared with our Metro Council, which is why they wanted us to go directly through them and submit an RTP, thereby bypassing Metro Parks, who had failed on their last two RTP attempts.)
Furthermore, at that time I was an IMBA designated RTP grant advisor (one of only a small handful in the U.S.) and sat on the state’s RTP board. So thanks a lot to the “friendly staff” at Metro Parks for being such team players!
You are correct that my “letters really helped our cause.” Because for the first time Metro Parks realized that someone was willing to shine the light on all of their dirty little secrets. No longer could they misuse trail grant funding we secured, no longer could they get away with not cooperating with other city agencies, and most importantly, they would have to justify their elitist trail policies to our elected officials.
Pre-letter parks staff wouldn’t meet w/local mountain bikers, and we were almost kicked out of Cherokee Park. Post letter, regular meetings occurred and almost overnight, the Wilderness Loop was officially opened to mountain bikers.
Pre-letter we got very little Dingo support in building trails (even though that’s the sole reason for its purchase). The Dingo didn’t even cut ONE foot of new trail during its first year. Post letter, we see parks finally doing what they’re supposed to do.
My letter writing/advocacy work with both IMBA and the League of American Bicyclist’s shined some much-needed light on Metro Parks mistreatment of mountain bikers during the Bike Summit, and ultimately lead to a changing of the nationwide Bike Friendly application process. My letters/advocacy work to our local leaders (elected and otherwise) simply pointed out the mistreatment (via both omission and commission) that mountain bikers have suffered for years. Is there anything wrong with that? Why should Metro Parks care if we share our experiences with our elected leaders, do they have something they want to hide? I encourage everyone to participate more fully in the democratic process, and I would hope you would to.
Metro Parks Inefficient Use of our Tax Dollars
I won’t go into great detail about parks inefficiencies (failure to secure RTP monies over the years is huge) but there are two instances that come to mind in which you had direct participation and can verify how poorly our tax dollars were utilized.
In the first, I sent exactly ONE letter during my tenure to the Park Director, requesting a meeting to develop a shared vision for mountain biking. I never received a response so I followed up and found out the Parks Director had passed the letter along to a subordinate, who promised a response in “about two weeks.” Well the weeks went by without any response and when I followed up again, lo and behold, the ball was in your court Mike, and guess what, I never got a response.
Or how about the time that the Director of Natural Areas, one Naturalist, you and I met at Waverly, during one of the hottest days of the year, and spent hours laying out a short re-route. Remember? All attendees had been thru at least one IMBA class. And what ever became of the reroute? Again, absolutely NOTHING. Proving once again that Metro Parks is big on talk (and inefficiency) and short on action.
In conclusion, Metro Parks has long operated as almost untouchable all the while supporting trail policies that cater to the elite and affluent in our community. I’m pleased that some of my efforts helped to shine the light on their unfair undemocratic policies. The more pressure applied by like-minded off-road advocates, the better our chances of having our public trails opened up to our sport.