Hornsby Shire Mountain Bike Alliance

On Wednesday night December 10, Hornsby Shire Council will consider the following recommendations in a Business Paper.: 1. Council adopt the attached Unstructured Recreation Strategy. 2. Council authorise further investigation into the development of mountain bike trails within the Hornsby local government area., and 3. The results of the investigations arising from recommendation 2 are reported to Council for its consideration.

Some quotes from the business paper include:

"Unstructured recreation has a higher community participation rate than competition sport, yet this has not been reflected in Council's expenditure and planning for recreation facilities."

"The URS was placed on public exhibition for a period of six weeks from 9th September to the 21st October 2008. Over 150 submissions were received relating to mountain bike trails. Submissions came from a wide demographic, including families, older riders, and singles."

"Schedule 8 in the URS includes a table with a preliminary assessment of mountain bike trails. This will need to be reviewed in consultation with members from the newly formed Hornsby Shire Mountain Bike Alliance and any other interested parties. The review would entail a fuller examination of the constraints and opportunities of the various trail sites, a ranking process and a cost estimate for each site."

This is a very positive step and further evidence of Hornsby Shire Council's commitment to the 150 letters provided in support of purpose built mountain bike facilities.