Trail Signage approved for Table Mountain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kandui]

I think the issue that MPRider is raising is valid.

 

On the one hand one can argue that if the trails are illegal and under the radar then there is a status quo that can be respected. Speaking for the area from Rhodes Memorial to Signal Hill. What do you consider an "under the radar trail"? One which has been hacked out of the bush with only a group of sworn insiders knowing about it, or walking routes not open to cycling?

 

However now we will have a situation where literally only the legal trails will signposted, but not only that, the illegal trails will be signposted too.

The reality of the matter is that hikers and dog walkers can now point to the sign when the illegal trail is used. Walkers and Hikers have a pretty good clue already which trails are off limits to cyclists. The signage might make a few others aware who were previously unsure, but the seasoned walker/hiker who complains about the illegal cycling , is the one who already knows what's going on. San Parks know exactly which trails are legal and which aren't , they don't need the signage to remind them. Even Tokai has No Entry signs put up where cyclists are not allowed to go. Does that guarantee 100% compliance? A sign without enforcement means nothing, so why not wait and see what happens when the signage is in place?

 

Hence we now have a situation where the status quo has been disrupted but the only thing that's been gained from a mountain biker point of view is that it’s now very clear that everyone is riding illegal trails, which in my view isn't a gain at all.

(Maybe not everyone, as there seems to be a big group of people with expensive mountain bikes that don’t actually ride single track and think that a 100k bike is good for marathon races only…)

So personally I am not sure (as I said above) what’s been gained? There is no single track on Table Mountain, signage or no signage. If you're not a fan of the jeep tracks and don't consider it terrain for the purist, then there are other riding areas which are better suited. There are other areas I prefer to ride, but as a network of trails on my doorstep, they are more than adequate. I think we should consider ourselves fortunate to have cycling trails within 5 minutes of the CBD.

Passing judgement on cyclists based on the price of their bike and the terrain they prefer to ride- I don't see the connection to your original argument.

 

Some important considerations:

1. Table Mountain is used by a massive amount of walkers, thus an agreement with walkers is very important. The original agreement gave cyclists the jeep tracks below Tafelberg Rd and a small area on Signal Hill. From what I know, the agreement was a pretty loose one, but is now entrenched. Perhaps it was suitable at the time with much fewer mountain bikers around, but it definitely needs reviewing. This is part of what TMB is trying to get to. Shared access in the short term and single tracks in the medium to long term.No guarantees that any of this will happen, but nobody so far has tried to deal with San Parks on a sustained basis. It's always been a quick in and out. Once they realised how long winded the process can be, they bailed.
   
2. Table Mountain is public land, doesn’t really matter what SANParks thinks or says, its public (every time I hear a hubber or someone say that the place should be privatised I get the creeps! What is it with people with money and privatising of land?!) and it should stay public. Your point? The area of Table Mountain National Park belongs to the City of Cape Town and is managed on their behalf by San Parks. Nobody is talking about controlling access (TMB certainly isn't), but by the same token we can't just go and do whatever we like on the mountain, just because it's public land. I don't like the politics, the schmoozing and the bureaucracy, but if there is a good chance of getting a favourable result for mountain biking this way, I'll do it. The people in control are pencil pushers, they don't get their hands dirty on the ground. If the Ranger patrolling the mountain was the guy who had the final say, we would get results in days. They like seeing mountain bikers riding on the mountain, but their superiors go by the book, so they have to do as they are told.
    
   
3. The last thing anyone wants (again maybe not everyone, this country seems to be divided into those that make the rules and those that can pay to break them) is access control to the mountain, its really completely erodes the concept of public access and public land and just reinforces the stereotype that South African is free as long as you have money…I assume you have a Level 3 Activity Card? That has been a requirement for years, for all areas where we are allowed ride, not just Tokai. Anyone walking their dog in TMNP needs a Level 1 Activity Card . Climbers and Paragliders require a Level 2 Activity Card and Horse Riders require a Level 3 card. If San Parks don't enforce their own rules consistently, that is their call. Do you think No Entry signs will change much?
   

 

So I think it’s important that the users (that’s US, even the okes using table mountain only to train for the Epic) buys into the mission of the Table Mountain Bikers and that Table Mountain Bikers stick to the mission. Now I am not sure exactly what the mission is or what the values are that Table Mountain Bikers are trying to adhere to, I do think that it’s important to understand and debate them.My "Mission" was more an idea, borne out of being part of the Table Mountain Safety Forum, during the time there were a lot of muggings around Rhodes Memorial and the Blockhouse. I was tired of all the talk and decided I had to try and so something tangible. Something visible on the mountain, so that other users could at least see that something was being done. You may recall the small red and green signs which appeared on the mountain which gave a location on the mountain as well as emergency numbers? I put those up, without permission, just to show that someone was aware of the muggings and doing something, anything. The San Parks media people were often eerily silent when there was a strong need for them to reassure the public.

You may recall the awareness rides on Table Mountain last year? Those were organised to show anyone looking that we as cyclists were not going to be intimidated by criminals and would not allow them to take away our pleasure of riding on Table Mountain. I invited other user groups( hikers and runners) to join, but they didn't.

The current project of the Trail Maps and associated signage took just under a year to come to fruition (permission from San Parks to mark the trails). The main motivation was the need for users to know where they were on the mountain and which trails they were allowed to use. I was asked these questions many times . For the regular trail user this wasn't an issue, but there are also a lot of other cyclists who come to ride on Table Mountain, but are not sure how to make the best of it. Especially around Deer Park, there are a lot of intersections to navigate and guys still take the wrong turn at the fork where you go up to the Blockhouse or towards Rhodes Memorial. We ride these trails every day, so why not formalise them so that Everyone can enjoy them equally?

The status quo excludes a lot of riders from getting the same amount of enjoyment out of the Table Mountain trails as the locals do. Just like you argue for equal access to public land, I would argue that the trail map and signage gives anyone the opportunity to enjoy the trails to their full potential.

The No Entry signs (No.9 sign as you point out) has to be put in 19 times, if I recall correctly. But, and I have already said this to San Parks, once in place, my next mission will be to systematically remove these signs (where appropriate) with their consent.

If the majority of mountain bikers disagrees with what TMB is trying to achieve, then let me know and I will stop immediately. When I started, i had no mandate from anyone, I just did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. I certainly have a lot more productive things I can do with my time, so please, if I'm doing something that goes against the general sentiment regarding riding on Table Mountain, let me know asap.