T Grimble
November 20th, 2002, 02:40 PM
McLean Bans Night Use of their Property in Belmont
I was asked by the McLean Hospital, owners of the McLean property in Belmont, to make the following announcement:
The public may only use the trails behind McLean Hospital during daylight hours. All night use of the trails is prohibited. Nobody may enter the campus area of the hospital unless they have business with the hospital. Building trails and stunts on their property is strictly prohibited. The open space on the grounds of McLean Hospital is private property.
Why has McLean asked me to make this announcement?
Last week the Director of Facilities was walking to his car and encountered a group of mountain bikers riding at night on the main campus. Not in the woods but around the buildings of the hospital. He stopped them and told them that this was private property and asked them to leave. Instead of leaving in a courteous fashion, the riders verbally picked a fight with the Director and were rude and insulting. I can attest that the Director in a very nice, easygoing person who has been supportive of mountain biking in the past. If the riders had remained on the designated trails, there wouldn’t have been a problem. If they had left without being abusive, there wouldn’t have been a problem. Now, there is a problem, and McLean’s has set a policy prohibiting all nighttime use of the trails.
For those of you who are not aware, NEMBA has spent over two years and countless hours working to maintain access to the trail on McLean property. It has been working with the openspace committee that has the final say in this matter. The committee has 9 voting members: 4 of these members have been traditionally anti-bike and 5 have been pro-bike. The Director of Facilities was the swing vote! How do you think he will vote now?
Fortunately, we were able to change the wording in the Conservation Restriction so that bike access is not legally prohibited but the management plan has not yet been determined so we are still at risk of losing access. The cards are stacking up against us right now. We are still at the table and will do our best to try and undo this but I am seriously concerned that we may have just lost the whole thing.
I think it would be a good thing to hear some other comments on this issue. If you happen to know the people who were riding that night, make sure you let them know how you feel. It is important to remember that all of us have the potential to make a substantial impact. These guys chose to make theirs getting all of us banned from what we love to do.
I was asked by the McLean Hospital, owners of the McLean property in Belmont, to make the following announcement:
The public may only use the trails behind McLean Hospital during daylight hours. All night use of the trails is prohibited. Nobody may enter the campus area of the hospital unless they have business with the hospital. Building trails and stunts on their property is strictly prohibited. The open space on the grounds of McLean Hospital is private property.
Why has McLean asked me to make this announcement?
Last week the Director of Facilities was walking to his car and encountered a group of mountain bikers riding at night on the main campus. Not in the woods but around the buildings of the hospital. He stopped them and told them that this was private property and asked them to leave. Instead of leaving in a courteous fashion, the riders verbally picked a fight with the Director and were rude and insulting. I can attest that the Director in a very nice, easygoing person who has been supportive of mountain biking in the past. If the riders had remained on the designated trails, there wouldn’t have been a problem. If they had left without being abusive, there wouldn’t have been a problem. Now, there is a problem, and McLean’s has set a policy prohibiting all nighttime use of the trails.
For those of you who are not aware, NEMBA has spent over two years and countless hours working to maintain access to the trail on McLean property. It has been working with the openspace committee that has the final say in this matter. The committee has 9 voting members: 4 of these members have been traditionally anti-bike and 5 have been pro-bike. The Director of Facilities was the swing vote! How do you think he will vote now?
Fortunately, we were able to change the wording in the Conservation Restriction so that bike access is not legally prohibited but the management plan has not yet been determined so we are still at risk of losing access. The cards are stacking up against us right now. We are still at the table and will do our best to try and undo this but I am seriously concerned that we may have just lost the whole thing.
I think it would be a good thing to hear some other comments on this issue. If you happen to know the people who were riding that night, make sure you let them know how you feel. It is important to remember that all of us have the potential to make a substantial impact. These guys chose to make theirs getting all of us banned from what we love to do.