I was at Suikerbosrand on Sunday and I signed the petition. I like the idea of wearing Bib's - it should bring an element of accountability to cyclists as well as contribute to buy-in to any set of rules/regulations that are agreed with Park officials. In my opinion however, a large proportion of the ranting and raving on this forum is missing the point - which is "Is it reasonable for birders to insist on cyclists getting banned from the park?". My family consists of avid birders (or twitchers as we are sometimes called) so I sit on both sides of the fence on this one. Why should birders insist on the park being theirs exclusively? If anything, vehicles are more likely to frighten off the birds than cyclists. This wish to have everything for oneself to the exlcusion of everyone else is a very South African phenomenon - large parks around the world have well structured facilities to cater for birders, walkers, cyclists etc - you only have to look at Hyde Park and Richmond Park in London, or Central park in New York for good examples of how we can all share and enjoy the same beautiful locations alongside each other! And yet, here we are in city that has infinitely more open unspoilt land and in almost all instances, there are groups lobbying for the removal of cyclists or dog walkers (the Spruit, the Linden Botanical Gardens and Suikerbosrand being cases in point). When are we all going to start trying to find ways of co-existing with each other?
