Emil -- 14 June 07 -- Charleston Park and future home to Neil designed and flagged 5+ miles of singletrack abutting Lake Lanier has been on our club radar since we were asked to help the county build the Central Park trails in 2003. Tonight a few RAMBO members responded to a last minute request from Matt Pate, Forsyth County Parks Director, for a Charleston Park MTB trails plan "show of support". Conveyed by Neil Wagner, RAMBO trail master, we join 20 or 30 concerned neighbors in the county meeting hall with cushy seating and multiple strategically located screens which displayed Charleston Park with trail overlays on topos.
We've gathered to hear the county's subcontractor 'show and tell” and receive community input on plans for Charleston trails and two other parks. This is not an unfamiliar part of trail advocacy for SORBA/RAMBO. I just wish we'd received more than a couple of days notice for a weekday evening meeting. We've been through this cycle many times with government agencies on all levels. It's hurry up and wait: Identify a property owner champion. Make a case for MTB trails. Receive preliminary blessings from approval bodies. Open up a plan for public input. If all works well, we end up with an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed between our organization and the government partners that host our trails. It's a friggin lot of work and man hours to convince some folks what all of us know inherently - that the healthy sport we promote and the work we undertake with no taxpayer expense is a good thing!
New trails are equal parts serendipity, will power, and hard work. We first got involved with Matt through alert Forsythian and then new RAMBO member Caitlin, who'd turned us on to a young new parks director bursting with new ideas. Mind you, this was right in the middle of our wranglings with the mechanations of the City of Roswell over "Mansell" (later to be blessed as Big Creek Park) trail development. Through Matt and the help of plenty of volunteers, county community service workers, and county resources we dug in to design, flag, and cut the 3.4 miles of CP trails in record time. Freeriders jumped at the opportunity to build the first such freeride area adjacent to our beginner singletrack.
So, Charleston has been a long time brewing, and from what I'm told after the meeting this night, the reality of Charleston Park trails have moved a few inches closer to this side of the horizon. For years, the Army "Corps" has been divesting itself of their public use areas, transferring ownership and management to local governments who can come up with an acceptable plan. The process involves public hearings – lots of 'em.
Changes proposed this night bring out the nay-sayers, the curious, and those like us supporting a worthy agenda for our sport. The skeptics voiced concerns about costs to build and maintain, and were quickly allayed by locally-based RAMBO members Steve Jackson and Mark Johnson, along with county parks advocate Matt Pate. The issue of trail traffic too near property lines (and other X-rated goings on – subject for another story) was addressed. After the meeting, Neil Wagner and Chris Hobeck engaged a longtime property owners (family property since early 19th century!) abutting the park. We have friends wherever we gather. One owner who lived in Europe for a while and a serious trail advocate, is now frustrated by our society's over-reliance on cars and roads that result in congestion, pollution and overweight, inactive kids. He's running for local council on a platform that included a plan for achieving accessible trails throughout the county. Learn something new every day!
I also have renewed respect for individual Forsyth County public servants for the grilling they got, in spite of the fact they only recently took over operations of the parks being reviewed. All participant suggestions and concerns were logged. Virtually all in attendance appreciated the county's proactive approach to maintaining and improving recently acquired properties compared to the property's previous stewards. I know this because some of the most vociferous complainers felt compelled to say as much as the evening wore on.
It is all about awareness-building and a willingness to get involved. Before long, I have little doubt, we'll be riding a new trail system abutting this side of Lanier.
