What It Looks Like To Be Screwed By JeffCo.

Jeffco Officials Pay Lip Service to Mountain Bikers’ Concerns.  New Jeffco Proposal Limits Mountain Bike Trail Access at Apex Park.

If you left the last couple of Jeffco Open Space meetings about Apex thinking that Jeffco officials were not going to do anything drastic to limit trail access to mountain bikers who make up more than 50% of the park users then you were dead wrong.  In fact you’ve just been stabbed in the back.

The new proposal to be voted on in October by the Open Space Committee closes the Enchanted Forest trail to down hill bike traffic and restricts any downhill traffic between Sluicebox and  Pick’n Sledge on Apex trail.  They are doing this to limit “shuttling” they say.  Jeffco originally stated in each meeting that they were opposed to one-way use trails because it causes confusion by long-term trail users,  and adds additional enforcement responsibilities on a ranger force that is already constrained.  Not to mention homeowners in the area that access the park from different zones will now have to be educated on how to use the trail differently than they have in the past since they don’t enter at traditional trail heads.

The COMBA proposal, which was supported by the vast majority of mountain bike attendees at all the meetings has been 90% ignored and the Jeffco Trail User Task Force proposal has been pretty much adopted 90% (in our book TUTF does not truly have mountain bikers in their interest…they say they are mountain bikers, but we’re suspect about their technical riding).

So what to do next?

Short-Term

1) Read and become knowledgeable about this proposal.  See Attached.

2) Call or email Thea Rock at Jeffco and express your dis-pleasure.  She is the Citizen Outreach contact for Open Space.  Be professional.  This isn’t her decision or proposal.  She is just the person that has to deal with all of us.  email: trock@co.jefferson.co.us phone: 303.271.5925

3) Most Important!  Attend the Jeffco Open Space Advisory Committee Meeting October 1, 2009 at 7 PM at the Jeffco.  Open Space Office.  Tell OSAC that this proposal does not have 50% of the park’s users interest in mind.  There are other better alternatives and if it passes it will have a negative effect on other trails and open space in the system.  Better alternatives include:

• More Signage- that mountain bikers will pay for.
• Pull-outs in tight areas that mountain bikers will build
• Additional trails that will allow more users to safely use the park that mountain bikers will gladly build
• Cutting back high grass - that mountain bikers will cut.
• Heck, even enforce “shuttling” at the top of Apex if we have too.

Long-Term

1) If you are a mountain biker that lives in Jefferson County you need to make your interest known to the Jefferson Board of County Commissioners.  They do not make this decision directly, but certainly have influence over County Administrators. After all, if you live in Jeffco., you vote for these people and your tax dollars pay for their salaries.  Tell them Open Space policies should not exclude or restrict a responsible user group or a user group that includes over 50% of a park’s visitors.

Here is their Contact info:

• Faye Griffin, Chair: District 1

• J. Kevin McCasky: District 2

• Kathy Hartman: District 3

• E-mail: commish@jeffco.us

• Telephone: 303-271-8525

2) Mountain bikers need better representation on the Open Space Advisory Citizen Committee.  These people are appointed by the County Commissioners.  Many times they are friends or associates of the elected officials.  If you are a citizen in Jeffco. make a phone call and ask if you can be considered for the Open Space Advisory Committee for 2010. Ask for a meeting with your County Commissioner to discuss these open space issues.

• Below is a current list of the citizen advisers for Open Space.  Many of their terms are up in 2o1o.  One or more of these positions could be filled by one of us next year if we are persistent with the Board of County Commissioners.

Member	Term Expires	Represents
Greg Stevinson, Chair	3/31/2010	County
Jan Wilkins, Vice Chair	3/31/2011	At-large
Wayne Forman, Vice Chair	3/31/2012	At-Large
John Litz, Secretary	3/31/2011	City
Rebecca Watson	3/31/2010	At-large
Frank Barone	3/31/2010	City
Kevin Burke	3/31/2011	County
Ken Morfit	3/31/2012	City
John Wolforth	3/31/2012	County
Bob West	3/31/2012	Recreation Districts
Felicity Hannay	3/31/2010	Alternate
Jim Lancy	3/31/2011	Alternate

Finally, if you haven’t sent COMBA some hard earned cash, consider sending them a check.  They’ve been working hard with IMBA to resolve some of these issues and can do more with more mula.

See you October 1!

Discuss the Jeffco proposal on the Board