Final Evaluation and Recommendation to Continue

From: Wakefield A Model for Night Mountain Bike Riding

NIGHT RIDING BOARD PRESENTATION (JUNE 2005)

Introduction

When we started this project we found that although night riding is a popular and accepted recreational activity, nationally there is little written policy regarding night riding. As a result, our committee, senior management and the board asked several questions that required a lot of research. We researched what was being done locally and nationally, held shareholder meetings with the mountain bike community and civic leaders and involved a diverse work team that incorporated Resource Management, Lake Front Parks, Park Operations, Park Development and Park Services. As a result of this effort we developed a successful pilot program which is now used by the International Mountain Bike Association as a national model.

History

Night riding had been occurring at Wakefield Park and Lake Accotink Park as an advertised, organized ride of the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiast (MORE) for approximately eleven years. It is unknown how many other independent night riders use these two parks but staff estimates the number of users is equal to or greater than the organized rides.

Although staff at the Wakefield and Lake Accotink Parks had been aware the activity occurred, neither park had viewed it as a problem. There have been few reported problems with night riding. Instead, staff had felt that adult activity in the parks served as a deterrent to crime and other illegal activities.

In the summer of 2004 we were challenged to develop a night riding policy and address the park regulation that parks close at dark. Staff developed the policy (see attached) and implemented it in October 2004. The pilot officially ended May 31, 2005.

Pilot Program Defined:

Night riding was allowed on all Wakefield Park designated trails. These trails have been defined in the 1999 trails plan and are marked with either a yellow, blue, or orange blazing on brown carsonite post. Night riding was allowed on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights from dusk until 10:30pm. Appropriate signage was posted regarding the pilot program and the affected evenings. All vehicles were required to be off park grounds by the posted 11pm closing of lighted facilities. Night riding activities were monitored by the expansion of our existing Park Monitor Program. A bike patrol staffed by MORE volunteers, monitored night riding activities and reported to FCPA or FCPD when necessary.

Evaluation

The program was evaluated on six criteria: the number of park users benefiting from the program, responses from the night riding participants on the experience of the ride, review of accidents/incidents, review of complaints regarding the program, review of how complaints were handled by staff and the bike patrol and a review of the trail impact.

1. The number of park users benefiting from the program: To date we have on record over 600 participants. This number is based on estimates from the trail monitors observations and is probably a low estimate.

2. Responses from the night riding participants on the experience of the ride. Summary of Night Riding Questionnaire and Written Comments:

1. Rider Skill Level of respondents    16 Expert    23 Intermediate    1 Beginner

Questions 2 - 8 were on a 1-10 scale with 1 being not satisfied and 10 being completely satisfied:
2. Quality/Enjoyment of the riding experience	avg. rating 9.4
3. Suitability of Wakefield's trails for night riding	avg. rating 9.5
4. Having trails that are long enough to keep my interest	avg. rating 7.7
5. Having trails that are challenging enough to keep my interest	avg. rating 8.0
6. Overall safety of the night riding program	avg. rating 9.7
7. Your overall satisfaction with the night riding program	avg. rating 9.1
8. Are you likely to continue participation	100% rated this very likely
Are you likely to recommend the program to others	100 % rated this very likely?
Questions 9 - 13 were on a yes/no scale with space provided for comments (summarized below):
9. Did the Wakefield night riding program meet your needs	Yes 88%
10. In your view does night riding impact wildlife in the park	No 90%
11. Have you heard any complaints about the night riding program	No 92%
12. Did you see any accidents or other incidents during night riding	No 92%
13 Did you experience any problem encounters with other trail users	No 95%

• Comments that more trails are needed:
  Expand to Accotink (10)
  Not enough trails (11)
  

• Comments were made that more opportunity to night ride is warranted:
  More Nights/all weeknights (8)
  Open later at night (5)
  One comment for night rides on weekends
  

• A few comments to increase the variety and difficulty of the trails for greater enjoyment:
  Rock Gardens (1)
  More trail improvement like the new trails (2)
  

• Comments on Impact to wildlife:
  General comments were that there was no impact. Two comments were expressed as to hypothetical impact, but not observed (i.e. wake up deer, interfere with deer migration patterns)

• Problem encounters:
  A couple of comments were made regarding encounters with dogs off leash and their owners (a violation of park rules).

• Other comments:
  Night riding provides improved security for the park
  Several comments were made expressing appreciation for the great trails within the park and the cooperation of the park personnel

3. Review of Accidents/Incidents:
No incidents/ accidents have been reported by the trail monitors during night riding events.

4. Review any complaints received during the program.
None reported

5. Review how complaints were handled by staff and the bike patrol
None reported

6. Review of trail impact.
Staff reports that the trails may have actually improved under the existing night riding program. Since we did not have data from the previous years to compare this year's data staff can only go by observation. However, the following observations make logical sense as to why staff notices improvement:

• Night riding that was once a seven day a week occurrence, was limited to three days per week.
• The trail monitors do not allow the rides to happen if the trails are wet, a condition that damages the trails.
• Trail monitors reported maintenance problems in each of their evening reports. This allowed volunteers or staff to quickly react to these situations before they caused trail degradation. An example of this is when a tree falls blocking the trail staff or volunteers can react quickly clearing the trail before riders create a new trail around this obstruction. The riders creating the way around the obstruction may not be sensitive to environmental issues.

Summary

The project team which includes staff from Resource Management, Park Operations, Park Services, Lake Front Parks and Park Development agree that the survey results, coupled with staff observation, warrant the continuation of the night riding program at Wakefield Park. There has been substantial benefit to the park with the trail monitor program with no negative impact.

Another question raised by staff was, should this program be expanded? The project team feels that Wakefield Park is unique. It has a high level of activity resulting from the ball fields, the skate park, the lighted tennis courts and the influence from 495, Braddock Road and Little River Turnpike. Wildlife in the park has already had to make adjustments and night riding appears to have little additional effect. The program should only be expanded to other sites if those sites have similar circumstances/activity levels.

A possible opportunity for expansion of the night riding program is to rotate the program via a once a month ride at various other sites. For example the first Wednesday of the month a night ride could be held at Lake Fairfax, the second Wednesday at Riverbend, the third Wednesday at Lake Accotink and the forth Wednesday at Laurel Hill. A rotating program is currently used by NRPA and MNCPPC at many of their locations.