Watchung Reservation MTB Access - This Is It!!

gtluke

The Moped
Hummm,
I got a ticket for disregarding an officer, he never got me because he was on foot and I was driving. He came to my house and left a ticket on my car.
Pretty sure they can't do that. Also pretty sure that in speed traps, the office that uses the radar gun has to be the one that writes the ticket. Could be urban legend (do these exist post internet?) but I recall it having something to do with showing up to court, and the judge asking the officer how he qualified the speed, and then the officer who wrote the ticket DIDN'T since his co-worker just told him over the radio, and they toss it out. Same with giving you a ticket in the mail. They can't prove YOU did the crime unless the cop sees your license. Which is why the speed cameras get nullified all over the country and they can never give you points using them.
 

Shorepoints

Well-Known Member
We will post formal next steps soon, but the UC JORBA position is we have a window of goodwill with the Freeholders right now because they know damn well that they just screwed us with both the vote and the embarrassingly horrible mis-handling of the entire issue. Bergen is on record (as are the other Freeholders who voted no) saying they are not against MTB at other potential UC sites, they just don't feel Watchung is a good idea now. So UC JORBA (with some of your help) is scouting other potential sites now and surveying the stakeholders in these sites for cooperation/support of an alternative site. This is the mistake that the County made with Watchung: they proposed the bike trail in a vacuum and took all the stakeholders (neighbors, mayors, environmentalists, hikers) by surprise. Nobody likes surprises. We have a second chance and we can't blow it. IMHO a lot of these proposed protests have good intentions but I don't feel will get much of a result. I'd rather try to maintain good relations with UC Parks and the Freeholders and win an alternative site.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
The lunatic fringe opposition doesn't "get jokes", monitors these boards and take things out of context.

But, whatever...
but seriously, I've seen a lot more hikers smoking dope in the woods than people in biking gear
just tired of being characterized by the opposition that mtb folks are "bad" people
 

Shorepoints

Well-Known Member
We have done some preliminary scouting of Hidden Valley/Houdaille Quarry as potential alternatives. If anyone has any other alternative sites, please feel free to name them here.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Directly east of Watchung Reservation. It's funny because at some of the early Freeholder/Opposition Meetings, the opposition proposed it as an alternative site to Watchung.

the only larger opened parcels of land in Union County I can recall are Ashbrook and Lenape.
Don't think there's much elevation in Ashbrook, but adding flowy mtb trails to the Oak Ridge county park may be interesting.
Lenape park is mostly surrounded by business, so there will be little residential opposition, though again not sure if ideal for mtbing
 

stilluf

Well-Known Member
We will post formal next steps soon, but the UC JORBA position is we have a window of goodwill with the Freeholders right now because they know damn well that they just screwed us with both the vote and the embarrassingly horrible mis-handling of the entire issue. Bergen is on record (as are the other Freeholders who voted no) saying they are not against MTB at other potential UC sites, they just don't feel Watchung is a good idea now. So UC JORBA (with some of your help) is scouting other potential sites now and surveying the stakeholders in these sites for cooperation/support of an alternative site. This is the mistake that the County made with Watchung: they proposed the bike trail in a vacuum and took all the stakeholders (neighbors, mayors, environmentalists, hikers) by surprise. Nobody likes surprises. We have a second chance and we can't blow it. IMHO a lot of these proposed protests have good intentions but I don't feel will get much of a result. I'd rather try to maintain good relations with UC Parks and the Freeholders and win an alternative site.

This ^^ multiplied by 100%. MTB access in UC goes through the freeholders. Yes I'm deeply disappointed in the vote after all the time everyone put in, and the promises that were made, but I want to ride close to my house, so I'm committed to the process and will play nice. Would I love to protest and stick it to the county? Of course. But this will go no where and get us nothing other than a little gratification.
 

jnos

Well-Known Member
So -Union County has FOUR marked units and an ATV in the Watchung Res-er-va-tion this weekend.

Sunday a child on his bike was struck by a car on Springfield Ave between Nomahegan and Dreyer's Farm three miles away in Cranford. On Monday, ISIS killed over 22 people in Manchester England.

Please tell me that the Freeholders can reconsider their allocation of resources.
@thegock, the argument that the police can probably better spend their time on other things is a good one, but the ISIS comments detract from it.
 

TheLonerider

Well-Known Member
Re the jorba guys, I don't know how you can trust the county going forward, but I appreciate any efforts and look forward to good news if it materializes.

That said regarding alternate sites, you do realize that when they put up the new "no bike" signs last August it wasn't just at watchung, they hit all the county parks even those that were never closed to bikes before, effectively closing every trail at every park in the county. According to my opra request response they were planning it as far back as that spring. And the fliers they had posted a day after the May 18 2017 vote (wow they work fast...) say it's prohibited at ALL county parks.

I mean, Monday, May 22, 2017, one weekday after the vote, the county had already printed up full color 2-sided brochures warning people that “mountain biking is prohibited at ALL county parks”. How they got them designed, approved, printed, and distributed so fast, one day after the vote, is a good question. Perhaps, they did not wait for the results of the vote to design and print them.

I just don't see much goodwill there from them, logically, but again, wish you luck.

Lonerider
 
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Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
I've heard some roadies have been stared down in the circle park area, cause the opposition can't even tell the difference between the two
When this all first went down customer's were getting pulled over on road bikes and harassed. The cops definitely don't know the difference.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Hidden Valley would be a terrible spot IMO. If you could squeeze 4 miles in that place I'd be surprised. Not to mention it goes behind a bunch of houses that already have huge no trespassing signs all over. Gonna be another NIMBY situation. It's over, drive to Chimney Rock.
 

Xler8

Well-Known Member
When this all first went down customer's were getting pulled over on road bikes and harassed. The cops definitely don't know the difference.

So what's the point in even owning a bike?

They should ban selling them. Make it illegal to own one.

Where do you draw the line?

Why are so many people sipping on the hateraid these days over people on bikes? Hard to believe this is really happening.
 

Anthony Livelli

New Member
Pro Tip:

Don't use Strava when riding bikes in the Wachtung Reservation.
We have done some preliminary scouting of Hidden Valley/Houdaille Quarry as potential alternatives. If anyone has any other alternative sites, please feel free to name them here.
the only larger opened parcels of land in Union County I can recall are Ashbrook and Lenape.
Don't think there's much elevation in Ashbrook, but adding flowy mtb trails to the Oak Ridge county park may be interesting.
Lenape park is mostly surrounded by business, so there will be little residential opposition, though again not sure if ideal for mtbing
Lenape could be a decent possibility not much elevation but enough milage there to work with. kinda like 6 mile run except a bit smaller
 
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