Kettle Valley Railway Petition

I think this is very important to all off road riders, in particular Dual Sport Riders.

The Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) is shaping up to be the battle ground for non motorized users against motorized recreation users here in BC. Many of you may not use or care if the KVR is non motorized, but the KVR is Crown Land, plain and simple. If they make this land non motorized recreation they can do it anywhere, without any consultation.

As I understand the rules now the KVR is Crown Land and we have access to it Except for
Inside a municipality, the municipality decides on the use Inside a Park.

Go directly to the petition site:
http://www.petitiononlinecanada.com/petition/stop-the-ban-of-motorized-traffic-on-the-kettle-valley-railway-kvr/169

The KVR is right in my back yard. I grew up riding on that railway, watched the fires take out the trestles, and it was right after that that these yahoos started to raise shit. Horseback riders, cyclists and foot pushers all got together and decided to fuck the motorized vehicle use. I'm a very strong advocate to keeping this thing open to bike riders, because it IS crown land, and is for EVERYONE to use. I've stated more than once that if they go and pull that right out from under us then they should eliminate cyclists off the roadways altogether. Do like they've been doing and make them share a path with the pedestrians.

Ya that is frustrating, there is so much of this going on it's hard to keep track, but 2 more signed up

It's the same thing we deal with down here, only our government calls it "Wilderness" or "Wild Land" designation.

Normally, our congress has to agree to designate an area as "Wilderness" in order to make it off limits to motorized AND wheeled recreation (that is, NO wheelchairs, strollers, bicycles, etc). The requirements for this are extremely stringent, and therefore it rarely happens. To circumvent this, a particular movement was set up called "Wild Lands" which basically says they think it should be a wilderness someday, so it's going to be closed for years while the decision is decided. That, fortunately, met with huge opposition from lawmakers, particularly from states where off road recreation is a huge business driver (like Utah).

We will all have to fight for keeping federal land availabe for riding, and I look forward to that m electric motorcycle that goes 500 miles between charges and outruns a typical 400cc bike. That would at least keep the nieghbors from fighting to close many areas.

We have huge organiztions down here (CORVA) that fight for the right to keep riding areas open, but a lot of it comes from people writing and calling their government representatives to implore them to see the side of the off roading public.

One of the lines I always use in my letters begins: "I only have a few weeks a year of vacation. How about you, senator? Is that enough time to hike the 40 miles one way it will take for your family to see this part of America? Because if these trails and roads close, that is the only way you will ever see it again. Maybe you have the time and muscle to hike that far, but I don't."

+2 more

KLRchickie wrote:

I think this is very important to all off road riders, in particular Dual Sport Riders.

The Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) is shaping up to be the battle ground for non motorized users against motorized recreation users here in BC. Many of you may not use or care if the KVR is non motorized, but the KVR is Crown Land, plain and simple. If they make this land non motorized recreation they can do it anywhere, without any consultation.

I think you cross posted this as a quote from DualSportBC (but I could be wrong). Which is fine.

However, anyone who thinks this is going to "be the battle ground" wasn't paying attention (or didn't care) when road closures in BC started 40 years ago. Originally, they targeted hunters and prohibited access into certain areas with a vehicle. There are still areas in the East Kootenays that are closed to hunters entering with a motor vehicle, while people on dual sport bikes can merrily ride by hunters as they walk in. To the best of my knowledge, hunters didn't get a lot of support from the rest of the motorized community while this developed. They certainly don't today.

The history of road closures in BC - for various reasons - is that it is generally done without consultation. Occasionally it is, as was done with the SRMMP. But mostly, it is done on the recommendation of government staff. Most closures that I am familiar with have a reasonable rational behind them. And at times they include bicycle and/or horse traffic, not just motorized traffic.

Beyond that, disputed use of the KVR right of way goes back at least as far as 2003. The main proponent of removing motorized traffic is Trails BC, which is unapologetically anti-motorized use. I don't live in the area, but I can't remember the government making any serious noises about closing the KVR to motorized traffic. I doubt they have failed to notice that motorized users equals money, which may be why the government has decided to mostly ignore the issue until now.

Quote :

As I understand the rules now the KVR is Crown Land and we have access to it Except for
Inside a municipality, the municipality decides on the use Inside a Park.

Frontcounter BC can advise you of the status of any section of the KVR. Like roads, it is possible that parts are open and parts are closed.

Quote :

Go directly to the petition site:
http://www.petitiononlinecanada.com/petition/stop-the-ban-of-motorized-traffic-on-the-kettle-valley-railway-kvr/169

It's a little more complex than that, in my opinion.

There is no doubt that the Trails BC society will advocate for legislation banning motor vehicles wherever and whenever they get the chance - it is what they do.

There is also no doubt that motorized vehicles make the KVR almost impossible for bicycles in a few places, and very annoying for those on foot. We mountain biked parts of the trail with friends from Osprey Lake a few years ago. One section near Chute Lake was so chewed up, washboarded, and loose that you really couldn't make forward progress on a bike. Remember that lots of bicycles on this trail are towing a bob trailer, or have a kiddy carrier back, etc. Wouldn't have made for enjoyable hiking either. That's how you enlist pissed off people to advocate banning motorized traffic.

Then there's the ATV users that go by you with engine roaring in a spray of gravel, leaving you enveloped in a cloud of dust. What fun! And, of course, the gnarly 4x4 trucks using the trail.

Sometimes it is a revelation to live in the other guy's shoes for a while. Helps to see where they're coming from.

I'm sure everyone here rides multi-use trails like the KVR on a quiet bike and rides quietly, doesn't roost and slide around corners, slows to walking speed when passing non-motorized users, etc. And of course, joins one of the local community groups that do volunteer maintenance on the KVR because the government does little or none beyond rebuilding the trestles - working alongside non-motorized users on the trails makes you a face instead of a bike, and shows you work on the trail too. But that isn't true for all ATV, 4x4, dirt bike, etc users, and therein lies the problem.

Signing online petitions will not preserve the KVR or any other trail for non-motorized use, when that usage gets heavy and there is conflict with other user groups. While motorized use can screw it up the trail bed for hikers and bicyclers, there is no way hiker use can screw it up for motorized use, so it is kind of a one way street. I'm not aware of the province moving towards a decision on motorized use, although that is certainly possible. But the conflict that has been there since the KVR became an "official" trail is not going to go away, increased use is only going to make it worse.

If dual sporters want to protect the privilege of using the KVR, as a user group they are going to have to work to be seen in a positive light. It might not be fair, but it is what it is. The morons using the KVR like it's a motocross track and showing no regard for other users are not going to go away, so the challenge is to create a positive image in the communities along the KVR, so that people see the morons as individual morons, not representative of the group.

"on a quiet bike and rides quietly, doesn't roost and slide around corners, slows to walking speed when passing non-motorized users, etc"

I agree this is a lightning rod issue here as well.

I do slow waaay down when I see anyone else, even another rider. But it disgusts me when I'm passed by someone who decides that the correct moment for full throttle is directly in front of me. Of course, were I on foot, that would tick me off even further...