Ty Driscoll clears air during his mountain bike jump in Haro Woods last month. The fate of the area remains uncertain as Saanich staff continue to wrestle with the question of allowing cycling in the area. Wolf Depner/News Staff

Ty Driscoll clears air during his mountain bike jump in Haro Woods last month. The fate of the area remains uncertain as Saanich staff continue to wrestle with the question of allowing cycling in the area. Wolf Depner/News Staff

LETTER: Ban cycling in Haro Woods

Re: Cycling appears on track for Haro Woods, in the June 8 Saanich News. I live in the neighbourhood and am against cycling in Haro Woods.

Re: Cycling appears on track for Haro Woods, in the June 8 Saanich News. I live in the neighbourhood and am against cycling in Haro Woods.

The main reasons I would like to ban cycling include: The cyclists are generally reckless, going very fast, and mindless of pedestrians old or young. They want ‘off-road cycling’, which means ‘don’t follow the rules of the road’. For the thrill of it, cyclists go off trail, create havoc around the trees and undergrowth, and destroy the very things we go into the woods to enjoy. Cycling when it is muddy leaves ugly tracks and ruts throughout the woods, creating a space only welcome to cyclists.

Why should neighbourhoods make a petition to Saanich if, as in this case, staff can just choose to ignore it if they do not like it? The manager of park planning and other staff should not be deciding what bylaws and zoning bylaws they want to enforce and which they choose to ignore and not enforce. Are the cyclists and the Saanich ‘parks planning staff’ the same people?

G. Henkelmann

Saanich

Saanich News