After some ups and downs, the District of North Vancouver is holding off removing some popular but potentially risky obstacles on local mountain bike trails.
Members of the mountain bike community were shocked to learn over the weekend that district staff would 鈥渋mmediately鈥� be removing five teeter-totters from trails on Mount Seymour and Mount Fromme at the request of Municipal Insurance Association of B.C., which covers the district.
At issue was an Ontario civil suit in which a county government was held liable for a mountain biker鈥檚 crash that left him a quadriplegic.
鈥淭hat sent some shockwaves amongst municipal land managers across the country,鈥� said Mayor Mike Little.
But, after reviewing the matter with staff on Tuesday morning, Little said the municipality will leave the teeter-totters where they are for now in hopes of finding a compromise that will satisfy the insurer.
鈥淚 think a lot of the risk could be mitigated by signage and alternate routes. We鈥檙e looking at that possibility right now,鈥� he said. 鈥淥bviously our top concern is the safety of riders so they鈥檙e not entering stuff that鈥檚 riskier or more dangerous than they鈥檙e prepared for.鈥�
More broadly, Little said he had concerns about the 鈥渟lippery slope鈥� of liability concerns taking precedence over some good clean fun in the outdoors.
鈥淚 have no interest in seeing our public lands sanitized from risk and therefore sanitized from recreational usage,鈥� he said.
There had been whispers through the 鈥渃edar telegraph鈥� for quite some time that the change was coming, said Cooper Quinn, president of the North Shore Mountain Bike Association. But the group did not agree the Ontario case would be applicable to B.C. and the District of North Vancouver, given differences in the two provinces鈥� liability legislation.
鈥淓very decision at every level is a risk and reward balance. Our position right now would be the rewards of these features would outweigh the potential risks,鈥� he said.
The teeter-totters aren鈥檛 just a fun 鈥渃ircus trick鈥� in the woods for advanced riders, Cooper said. They鈥檙e also a local innovation that helped establish the North Shore as the world鈥檚 centre for mountain biking, spawning an entire industry in itself.
鈥淚t started here on the Shore and grew worldwide,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not entirely hyperbole to say features like that really drove a movement that changed mountain biking across the globe.鈥�
Quinn said he was confident his group could find ways to modify the trails that would keep everyone satisfied and he appreciated the district鈥檚 approach.
鈥淲e do understand that the district operates within the bounds that they鈥檙e given by their insurance company but we are really glad to see they see the value in these features,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey ultimately heard the voice of the community.鈥�
Though not a mountain biker, Little said the importance of the sport is not lost on him.
鈥淎 part of the identity of North Vancouver is the mountain biking community and that close connection to nature. And a big part of that is the partnership with the NSMBA,鈥� he said.
Coun. Mathew Bond, a past president of the NSMBA, said he was pleased to see the teeter-tottering matter come to rest in a balanced position.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good example of taking a second look and finding a solution that鈥檚 better, that works for everyone,鈥� he said.
