New section of E&N Rail Trail completed in Langford timescolonist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timescolonist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
After dozens of speakers and an hour of debate, CRD directors recognized the changing user base in regional parks and approved the new guidelines as a balance, with some suggesting that future parkland acquisitions should be considered with mountain biking in mind. The new guidelines were developed by the CRD’s parks committee after extensive consultations with mountain bikers and concerned park users. “This sets out terms of reference on how to integrate mountain biking in existing park systems as [the sport] expands in the region,” said parks committee chair Rebecca Mersereau. “Our parks are acquired and managed for the primary purpose of ecological protection. We can’t just flip a switch.”
Saanich council has unanimously rejected the idea of a casino in the municipality, after agreeing to consider it two years ago. “It came down to values, I think,” said Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes. . . .
VICTORIA Saanich council voted against pursuing a potential hotel and casino development in the municipality at a council meeting Monday evening. The motion was to see if Saanich supported the development of a casino, hotel and entertainment complex in principle, which would allow the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) to conduct more research into the development and begin public engagement on the topic. Coun. Susan Brice initially supported the motion, saying that council s approval would merely allow BCLC to collect public feedback, giving Saanich residents a chance to weigh in. Most other councillors did not support the motion, however, and by the time a vote was called Saanich council unanimously rejected the motion.
Mountain bikers highlighted the health benefits of their booming sport and the need to accommodate a growing number of recruits. They warned that people would continue to build illegal or “rogue” trails in the parks unless the CRD provides more sanctioned ones.
Conservationists, including many who fought to protect the district’s wilderness areas, voiced outrage at the environmental damage caused by bikers and urged the CRD to put the brakes on mountain biking in sensitive ecosystems. Some called for more enforcement and others for an outright ban on biking in certain areas.
Neither side seemed particularly happy with the district’s proposed mountain biking guidelines, which aim to “provide a transparent process for identifying the most appropriate mountain biking areas within regional parks,” a staff report says