Cycling for Kids in City of Joondalup – The Story so far
One of my most enjoyable pastimes is to go mountain biking in the Hills. This pastime demands a high-level fitness and stamina, and to improve both I use a track that begins in front of my house in Kiernan Place.
This is a track which must be ridden where possible on the grass and not on the bitumen:
> Up the hill opposite to my house, down the hill and around into Kiernan park turn right down into the dip and then make a left after the playground and head up hill.
> Down over the hill follow the path on the right side of the rainwater sump into a small park by Dampier Avenue,
> Do a u turn and head down past the pumping station and head towards Aristride Avenue,
> Turn left and head towards the ocean.
> Turn left into Castlecraig Park, do not ride on the path
> Take the right hand fork up over the hill and ride through the green area on the left.
> Ride down hill on the right-hand side of the path to the bottom of the hill, now up over the next hill through the trees, and one more very steep incline to reach Castlecraig drive.
> Turn right on Castlecraig drive, stay on the grass and cross over Henderson Road, turn right into St Ives loop.
> At the first opportunity get onto the grass by the Northshore Country Club tennis courts.
> Stay on the Grass and ride towards Mullaloo drive and descend into Henderson Park.
> Exit Henderson park heading South and ride on the grass to Whitfords Avenue
> Ride four laps between Whitfords Avenue and Mullaloo Drive, and then return home over the same trail.
The reason for describing this training run is, that it is the basis of the proposal we presented to the Council on 24 November.
About four months ago I was riding the training trail and came across a group of kids in Henderson Park, they had built some jumps over piles of wood chips and were having great fun. Even I had a ride over their jumps. I stopped for a chat and discovered that there had been a complaint, and that the COJ Ranger had been around and told them to stop.
This prompted me to raise the issue with the local Councilor. The kids need somewhere to ride their bikes and have fun.
As the weeks went by COJ got more forceful and in the end fenced off the tress in Henderson Park, and thus no jumps. A meeting was held at Henderson Park between the kids, residents, Chris May (local Councilor), and it was suggested the kids should go ride their bikes in a disused part of the dune across the road. There were all sorts of problems with the kids riding their bikes in the dunes, and a week or so later both the Ranger and Police were called to evict the kids from the dunes.
About the same time as this was happening there was a discussion with Christopher May about taking some action, A meeting was convened at Henderson Park between Christopher May, Mark Harrison, (who had been involved in rescuing the kids from the dune experience), Tony Butler and myself. At that meeting we talked about how we might put together a mountain bike trail through the suburbs.
At the same time Christopher May was starting to push for a BMX track on Whitfords West Park like the setup at Shepherds Bush Park in Kingsley, and it was decided to begin a petition to the COJ for a BMX track at Whitfords West Park. Apparently, some teenagers had raised a petition earlier for BMX/MTB functions, but this was rejected by the COJ, because the signees must be voters in the COJ. The text of the petition was modified several times, and collection signatures began at the end of October.
By the way, there is COJ Biking strategy available on their web site. here
It fails to recognize that juveniles aged 8 t0 17 years is a large group, the majority of which have access to a mountain bike, and simply want to ride their bikes ‘off road’ and have some fun. Little fun can be gained by riding on a cycle path alongside a main road.
The discussion about a mountain bike trails through the suburbs continued, and Mark Harrison and I made a list of assumptions/givens that would form the basis of researching possible trails through the suburbs. These assumptions were of the form: use underpasses to crossing main roads, make use of parks which are not used for formal sports, look for parks with natural contours etc. etc.
One Sunday morning, in early October, we decided to go for a bike ride, starting in Kallaroo and then into Craigie and back again. We also decided it would be better if we took some teenagers with us for the ride. So, armed with maps and a suitable amount of water we took off from a place close to Henderson Park. The general idea was to stay off the bitumen and paths as much as possible. Three hours later we arrived back in Whitfords West Park after travelling through lots of parks, and with the view that mountain bike trails through the suburbs looked feasible. The kids had a great time just being kids and even rode down the steps at Quindalup dunes behind Craigie leisure Centre.
The following week Mark and I cycled around Hillarys and Padbury looking for unused parks and possible trails and discovered there are many parks with little use and lots of possible trails.
Yet another discussion with Chris May, resulted in Mark and I being given an opportunity to present our proposals to Mayor Jacobs, Director of Planning Ms. Dale Page and the two local Councilors on Tuesday 24 November – a copy of the presentation can be found below. We are given to understand that COJ have accepted our input and will include some of the ideas in their forthcoming Leisure Strategy document. Let us hope the Bike Plan gets updated.
The petition, containing about 350 names was handed into the City of Joondalup Council on Tuesday 8 December.
Now, in parallel with of all the above, there has been an ongoing dialogue between Mark and some of the students from Mullaloo Primary School re the need for fun cycling in Mullaloo. In late November Mark took the presentation and presented it to some students in Mullaloo Primary School, the result of this discussion resulted in a project for some of the kids to work on individual statements, which were to be presented at a future Council Meeting. Mark and I were flabbergasted by the amount of effort and enthusiasm these kids demonstrated in their preparation for the presentation of their statements, hours spent rewriting, timings (1 minute for each statement), practicing, learning the words etc. Mark has also spent lots of time with the kids in their preparation for their opportunity to speak to a full Council Meeting to be held on Tuesday 8 December.
Tuesday 8 December came, kids turned up early 5.30 pm eager and excited about what was to happen when they entered the Council Chamber. The Kids had some parents and teachers and other kids from School lending their support. Their first challenge was to get signed in and their name on a list of potential speakers. Mayor Jacobs made a special effort to come and welcome the kids outside the Council Chamber. He explained that the agenda was very full, and that not all the planned speakers would get a chance to speak. But there is another council meeting planned for February 2021 when more time will be allocated to topic or Mountain Biking, and there will more time for statements and deputations.
We all filed into the Council Chamber, this was a new experience for the kids, protocols must be observed. Five of the seven kids were chosen to give their statements, each gave a perfect speech and got their points across to the Councilors. This experience for the kids was both educational and memorable.
During the presentation to Mayor Jacobs, Director Page, it was suggested that we contact the Northern Beaches Cycle Club. This cycling club has been continually active with the COJ in preparing a Mountain Bike facility for implementation in Yalagonga Nation Park. This Mountain Bike facility is still in the planning phase. A meeting was arranged with Mark Papadopff, a member of the Cycling Club. Mark described the process of planning the Yallagonga, facility; this involved obtaining a grant from the sports Council ($20K) for a specialized company to design, cost and produce a report.
There is the beginning of a realization that kids need to have somewhere to ride their bikes, which is fun, but does not require their parents to transport their kids and bikes to a centralized facility.
More to come
Mark and Malcolm
