On Monday, February 5, 2024, the District of North Vancouver Mayor and Council voted unanimously in support of the DNV Parks Natural Areas Trail Strategy (NATS). This final vote was the culmination of almost 2 years of community engagement and planning by DNV Parks staff, advocacy work of NSMBA staff and directors, as well as a myriad of other community stakeholders.
YOUR MEMBERSHIP DOLLARS HARD AT WORK
Since the project was launched in Spring 2022 by the DNV, NSMBA Staff and Directors were on-hand to represent our membership at every step; representatives attended every public consultation session, met with the DNV staff one-on-one for guided stakeholder engagement, and we shared out all of the surveys and public consultation dates organized by the DNV so our members could provide their input. Our President, James Nadel attended the Council Workshop (Dec 12, 2023) and Executive Director, Deanne Cote, spoke in person at the Council meeting (February 5, 2024) in support of Parks staff as they presented their plan to Council. The countless hours of reviewing materials, internal discussions, engaging membership, preparing feedback, and meeting with DNV Council and Parks staff is precisely what the NSMBA is here to do. Our staff and directors put in as much time as needed to ensure that our input was organized and well received.
WHY IS THIS SUCH A HUGE WIN?
The existing systems that Parks staff are working from are outdated, lacking structure or completely non-existent. Many of the previous area plans are decades old, were never fully executed, are missing key aspects to them and didn’t take into account the evolution of the sport or the increased use of the recreation areas. The NSMBA has been trying to work with Parks on many projects but without proper foundations and structures in place we’ve been making limited progress on some projects, and completely stalled on others. An important example; there has never been a formal process to submit proposals for new trail development. Any of the proposals the NSMBA has submitted over the past many years have been filed away as there are no concrete steps for Parks staff to actionably evaluate them for approval or rejection. Our direct feedback provided through the consultation process, resulted in Action Item 1.1 of the NATS which addresses this lack of system; in the coming years we hope to be able to apply for expansions to the trail network through a regulated process, in the same way that you can for any other activity in the DNV requiring a permit.
THE WORK IS NOT DONE
During the stakeholder meetings the NSMBA expressed interest to work alongside DNV staff on many action items, including Action Item 1.2 – Develop a Seymour Area Trails Plan as we have extensive knowledge and insight of the area, as the only group currently managing and maintaining trails across the patchwork of land managers on the mountain. We also want to ensure that projects that were identified in the Fromme Mountain Sustainable Trail Use and Classification Plan from 2007 are finally completed (Action Item 1.3). Also, the DNV is consulting with neighboring land managers to align classification, maintenance, and permitting systems to ensure consistency across the network (Action Item 3.4). This will make our lives significantly easier, and should also result in improved experiences for users. Utilizing this new foundation, we will continue to show up and advocate for mountain bikers, trail users and a more cohesive network.
THANK YOU!
We want to extend a thank you to the DNV staff – Nicole Foth – Parks Planner and Steffanie Warriner, Director, Parks – who were responsible for this project and to all of our members for helping to provide input through the public surveys during the different phases of the project.
Trails for All. Trails Forever
Deanne Cote
Executive Director
Click the below image to rewatch the full council meeting with presentation from NSMBA Executive Director, Deanne Cote.
