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Staci Matlock The 1,500 acres of city-owned property north of Santa Fe off N.M. 599 are popular with hikers, mountain bikers, motocross riders (both BMX and motorcycles), dog walkers, and four-wheeler enthusiasts. They've created paths that weave around and over the juniper-covered hills. But they don't all agree on how the land in the Northwest Quadrant, known as La Tierra Trails, should be used.
"I think the area has unrealized potential to be a first-rate mountain bike park, along with a BMX park," said Santa Fe attorney and avid cyclist Frank Herdman.
Bill Burleson, who hikes, bicycles and snowshoes on the trails, is opposed to including a trail for dirt bikes (motorcycles). "I'm not opposed to motocross (motorcycles). I know they need a place to ride, but I don't think it should be allowed in there," said Burleson, who said he used to ride dirt bikes.
The city is hosting a public meeting today at Gonzales Community School to discuss existing conditions and future plans for La Tierra Trails. The city hired Wilson and Company to survey users, map existing trails and report on their condition.
Most of the trails are in good shape, according to the company, but the area lacks signage. The only signs denoting the trails are piles of rocks useful only to "experienced NWQ trail users," according to a report developed by Wilson and Company.
Currently there are 12 trailheads, two parking areas, a few illegal dumps and some campsites where people have been living.
Burleson said the city at one point posted signs prohibiting motorized vehicles and warning of $500 fines for violators. He said there were signs posted when he first began using the area four years ago that said no camping or dumping trash was allowed. "It's basically been neglected for years, or at least that's what it appeared like to me," Burleson said.
Wilson and Company documented fences cut along the west side of the Northwest Quadrant and evidence people were driving four-wheelers into the trails. Off of Camino de los Montoyas, which splits the quadrant almost in half, the company found evidence of people on ATVs and in vehicles driving around post-and-cable barriers to reach the trails.
Burleson said he's tried for two years to get the city to clean up and enforce the no-motorized-vehicle rule. He said he believes if the city approves a motocross park as part of the plan, the number of dirt bikers will increase, and so will conflicts with other users. Given the history of use, "If they fence it as proposed (in the plan), what's to keep people from cutting that one, too?" Burleson said. "If motorized vehicles had been legal from the beginning, I could have accepted it, but the city posted it as illegal."
Herdman mountain bikes out there three seasons a year, a few days a month. He said he hasn't had any run-ins with motorcyclists or four-wheelers, though he's had to move quickly to get out of their way a time or two. He said La Tierra Trails needs better trail configuration, signage, more parking and other facilities like shade structures. "I've never experienced any hostile reactions," Herdman said.
Creating a trails master plan for the Northwest Quadrant, building structures to control access, connecting to other trails, cleaning up the trash, and putting up trail signs will cost approximately $1.4 million out of a $2.9 million parks bond, according to Wilson and Company.
To see the Wilson and Company report, go to the city's website, http://www.santafenm.gov/index.aspx?NID=1829 or visit the Trails Alliance of Santa Fe on Facebook.
-- Source: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/LocalNews/Trails-for-all  |
