CYCLISTS FIGHT FOR TRAIL USAGE.

Byline: MARK LANGTON / Cycling

When it comes to the world of recreational usage, it promises to be bigger than the Hatfields and McCoys.

But the next big turf war is not a myth. This land battle involving bicyclists, anti-bikers and city government will be taking place in our own back yard, in the city of Los Angeles' public parklands.

First, a little history. A few years ago signs started popping up along city-owned park trails indicating that bicycles were not allowed. When the Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association (CORBA) investigated, it ran smack dab into L.A. Municipal Code 63.44 B 16, which states, ``No person shall drive or ride any cycle or vehicle, whether powered by motor or human power, except on paths, roads or drives designed and provided for such purposes.''

Of course, as is the case with many public backcountries, significant use had already been taking place for years without contest, reprimand or penalty from the city. And heck, if Richard Riordan, an avowed mountain biker, was riding them, why shouldn't everyone else?

At CORBA's urging, a Mountain Bike Task Force was formed. Through a cooperative effort between the city's Bicycle Advisory Committee, and Los Angeles Department of Transportation bicycle coordinator Michelle Mowery, CORBA set about to identify use patterns in several areas of Los Angeles' open-space parkland. Through surveys, volunteers gathered data on use patterns at Woodland Hills' Serrania Park and Limekiln and Aliso canyons in Porter Ranch.

Armed with survey results and other data, the task force has recommended a ``pilot program'' to the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks staff that would study a specified area, the major criteria being that it abut another public agency's open space. Serrania Park meets the criteria, as it is adjacent to property owned by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which in turn is adjacent to Topanga State Park.

Bicycle coordinator Mowery pointed out that the vast majority of Southland agencies already allow some level of mountain bike use in their parks. ``We are one of the only agencies in Southern California that does not allow access to mountain bikes, and we're working to change that,'' she said in a recent phone interview.

The task force suggests that the program's priority would be to target city parks that border existing recreational facilities, such as state and national parkland that allow off-road bicycle use. ``These city parks provide access to the other park sites and, in many instances, are a barrier to city residents who desire access to the larger parks by bicycle,'' the recommendation states.

Public meetings are earmarked for mid-March to begin developing the pilot program. Specific dates and locations have not been established, but the meetings may be heated, as evidenced by recent reactions by those close to the issue.

The recommendation has been met with cries of back-room politics by those opposing bicycles on public trails, some of whom accused Mowery and the Recreation and Parks commission of withholding information from them. At a recent public meeting, Ron Webster, a long-time hiking-trail builder and anti-bicycle activist, angrily confronted Mowery and Bicycle Advocacy Committee chair Alex Baum and demanded to know ``why we weren't informed'' of the proposed recommendation. Mowery responded that it was merely a proposal and was not yet a public matter. Webster stormed off, shouting, ``This is war.''

The pilot program has since become a political football, most recently landing in the lap of 12th District City Councilman Hal Bernson of Granada Hills. In meetings with the task force and Bernson's equestrian adviser Jeannie Plum, the councilman has voiced his belief that shared use between mountain bikes and horses does not work. He also indicated that the majority of recreationalists in his district are equestrians, a sentiment his cycling constituency might contend.

Percentages of cyclists and horseback riders aside, there is reason to assume that proponents of the different disciplines get along on backcountry trail.

In the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, bicyclists, hikers, and equestrians co-exist on the narrow trails that are open to shared use on National Park Service and state park properties.

And in Thousand Oaks, where the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) administers 12,000 acres of publicly owned open space, almost all of the 50-plus-mile trail system (much of which is narrow singletrack) is open to shared use, with little or no user conflict, according to agency officials. COSCA trails are similar to Los Angeles' in that they abut National Park Service property, serving as a gateway to the NPS' Rancho Sierra Vista trail system in Newbury Park, which in turn feeds into Point Mugu State Park.

The L.A. parkland usage controversy has area bicyclists concerned.

``It's frustrating, because it's a process that we've been involved with for the past 11 years in other communities, where it has been working for years,'' said CORBA Steering Committee member Peter Heumann. ``What we have here is a problem of perception versus reality.''

With countless mountain bikers in the Los Angeles area using public trails, the city is potentially alienating a significant and committed recreational group by not addressing its needs.

EXPRESS YOURSELF

If you are interested in learning more about recreational-usage issues involving Los Angeles parks or would like to make your concerns known, here's who to contact:

Councilman Hal Bernson, Los Angeles City Hall, Room 237, Los Angeles, CA, 90012; [phone], or fax, [phone].

Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Ken Novak, [phone], or fax, [phone].

Los Angeles Department of Transportation bicycle coordinator, Michelle Mowery, [phone].

Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee, Alex Baum, [phone].

Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association, P.O. Box 784, Woodland Hills, CA, 91365-0784, [phone]

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BOX: EXPRESS YOURSELF (see text)