Crowdog
08-21-2005, 08:10 PM
Sun, Aug. 21, 2005
ATV park proposed to preserve land
By BILL GRAHAM
The Kansas City Star
The woods were quiet Wednesday as Michael Herron walked under ancient oaks in Hidden Valley Park.
But engines had roared there.
Proof showed in ruts and eroded trails cut by motorcycles and four-wheel, all-terrain vehicles on the dirt slopes. The popular recreation vehicles threaten one of the most pristine natural forests in the metropolitan area, between Missouri 210 and Russell Road.
gIf we can just keep them out, Mother Nature can do a lot of her own healing,h said Herron, North Region manager for the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department.
Motorcycle and ATV riders also have posed problems for parks in Johnson and Jackson counties. Mountain bikes, four-wheel-drive trucks and Jeeps, and horses also have riders or drivers looking for hills and rough topography.
Such riding is forbidden in parks because it tears up soil, makes paths and spurs erosion.
The best way to prevent damage may be to create a park designed for those who want to ride off-road, Herron said, proposing an old quarry area on city land at Tiffany Springs Park and adjoining property owned by the Kansas City International Airport.
Trail damage at Hidden Valley and other parks is proof that people want a place to ride, he said.
But sanctioned sites are sparse.
In Johnson County, only Killcreek Park has an off-road-style trail, and itfs only for mountain bicycles, said Richard Niemann, a park officer.
Rangers sometimes nab ATV and motorcycle riders in Johnson County parks, Niemann said.
Jackson County has experienced problems at all of its parks. It responded by erecting barriers where riders enter and increasing ranger patrols on weekends, said Gary Salva, director for the county Parks and Recreation Department. That helped, and problems have not been significant this summer.
But Kansas City no longer has a ranger program because of cost cutting, Herron said.
The Kansas City Police Department, however, maintains an ATV-mounted patrol in the Northland, where parks are large and often isolated in semi-rural areas. But problems have persisted.
In the south, parks such as Swope Park also suffer occasional damage from the vehicles, said Dave Burke, superintendent for the South Division. But problems are not as severe as in the Northland.
Meanwhile, officials have found that barriers donft always work.
The Missouri Department of Transportation this spring put up burial-vault size concrete blocks, joined with steel cable, where riders were entering Hidden Valley Park off Missouri 210.
gSomebody cut the cable, and somehow they managed to move one of the concrete blocks,h Herron said.
A heavier cable is to be installed.
But a park for riding might do more good, Herron said.
gBy not developing a spot for people to ride,h Herron said, gwefre creating the opportunity for illegal activity.h
Herron held two meetings this spring with people interested in off-road riding. Another is planned this fall. His goal is to develop a coalition of riding groups for different types of trails and organize it into a nonprofit overseer for a riding park. The city would need help with planning, developing and maintaining the park. Rider groups would be self-policing, because Kansas City doesnft have the funds.
gWefve got to form a viable user organization to really build the kind of park envisioned,h Herron said.
No similar park exists in the metropolitan area, he said. The closest are in Columbia to the east and Perry Lake to the west.
gIfd say itfs desperately needed,h said Todd Posson of Kansas City, who works with a bicycling group called Earthriders. gIfm tired of repairing our mountain-bike trails because ATV users have damaged them.h
The biggest need is for ATV trails, although no one from that sport has joined Herronfs planning group, said Dave Killian of Olathe. Killian, on weekends, operates a private off-road driving area for four-wheel-drive vehicles near Fort Scott, Kan. Both Killian and Posson want to help design the Kansas City riding park.
gItfs a lofty goal, because they want us to be financially self-sufficient,h Killian said of the proposed coalition. gBut wefre working toward that.h
Jackson County years ago built an unsupervised ATV park, Salva said, but heavy use quickly destroyed it.
Thatfs why planning with user groups is needed for Kansas Cityfs riding park, Herron said.
gWe want to make it a model project on how you can do this the right way.h
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First glance
¡ A Kansas City parks official is proposing a riding park for all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, four-wheel-drives, bicycles and horses at an old quarry site at Tiffany Springs Park.
¡ Any off-road riders wishing to participate in planning should call Michael Herron at (816) 513-7523, or send at e-mail to Michael_herron@kcmo.org .
ATV park proposed to preserve land
By BILL GRAHAM
The Kansas City Star
The woods were quiet Wednesday as Michael Herron walked under ancient oaks in Hidden Valley Park.
But engines had roared there.
Proof showed in ruts and eroded trails cut by motorcycles and four-wheel, all-terrain vehicles on the dirt slopes. The popular recreation vehicles threaten one of the most pristine natural forests in the metropolitan area, between Missouri 210 and Russell Road.
gIf we can just keep them out, Mother Nature can do a lot of her own healing,h said Herron, North Region manager for the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department.
Motorcycle and ATV riders also have posed problems for parks in Johnson and Jackson counties. Mountain bikes, four-wheel-drive trucks and Jeeps, and horses also have riders or drivers looking for hills and rough topography.
Such riding is forbidden in parks because it tears up soil, makes paths and spurs erosion.
The best way to prevent damage may be to create a park designed for those who want to ride off-road, Herron said, proposing an old quarry area on city land at Tiffany Springs Park and adjoining property owned by the Kansas City International Airport.
Trail damage at Hidden Valley and other parks is proof that people want a place to ride, he said.
But sanctioned sites are sparse.
In Johnson County, only Killcreek Park has an off-road-style trail, and itfs only for mountain bicycles, said Richard Niemann, a park officer.
Rangers sometimes nab ATV and motorcycle riders in Johnson County parks, Niemann said.
Jackson County has experienced problems at all of its parks. It responded by erecting barriers where riders enter and increasing ranger patrols on weekends, said Gary Salva, director for the county Parks and Recreation Department. That helped, and problems have not been significant this summer.
But Kansas City no longer has a ranger program because of cost cutting, Herron said.
The Kansas City Police Department, however, maintains an ATV-mounted patrol in the Northland, where parks are large and often isolated in semi-rural areas. But problems have persisted.
In the south, parks such as Swope Park also suffer occasional damage from the vehicles, said Dave Burke, superintendent for the South Division. But problems are not as severe as in the Northland.
Meanwhile, officials have found that barriers donft always work.
The Missouri Department of Transportation this spring put up burial-vault size concrete blocks, joined with steel cable, where riders were entering Hidden Valley Park off Missouri 210.
gSomebody cut the cable, and somehow they managed to move one of the concrete blocks,h Herron said.
A heavier cable is to be installed.
But a park for riding might do more good, Herron said.
gBy not developing a spot for people to ride,h Herron said, gwefre creating the opportunity for illegal activity.h
Herron held two meetings this spring with people interested in off-road riding. Another is planned this fall. His goal is to develop a coalition of riding groups for different types of trails and organize it into a nonprofit overseer for a riding park. The city would need help with planning, developing and maintaining the park. Rider groups would be self-policing, because Kansas City doesnft have the funds.
gWefve got to form a viable user organization to really build the kind of park envisioned,h Herron said.
No similar park exists in the metropolitan area, he said. The closest are in Columbia to the east and Perry Lake to the west.
gIfd say itfs desperately needed,h said Todd Posson of Kansas City, who works with a bicycling group called Earthriders. gIfm tired of repairing our mountain-bike trails because ATV users have damaged them.h
The biggest need is for ATV trails, although no one from that sport has joined Herronfs planning group, said Dave Killian of Olathe. Killian, on weekends, operates a private off-road driving area for four-wheel-drive vehicles near Fort Scott, Kan. Both Killian and Posson want to help design the Kansas City riding park.
gItfs a lofty goal, because they want us to be financially self-sufficient,h Killian said of the proposed coalition. gBut wefre working toward that.h
Jackson County years ago built an unsupervised ATV park, Salva said, but heavy use quickly destroyed it.
Thatfs why planning with user groups is needed for Kansas Cityfs riding park, Herron said.
gWe want to make it a model project on how you can do this the right way.h
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First glance
¡ A Kansas City parks official is proposing a riding park for all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, four-wheel-drives, bicycles and horses at an old quarry site at Tiffany Springs Park.
¡ Any off-road riders wishing to participate in planning should call Michael Herron at (816) 513-7523, or send at e-mail to Michael_herron@kcmo.org .