Watchung Reservation

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KenS said:
There is a master trail plan being developed, and MTBrs are a stakeholder in the process. The county is bike friendly, but thus far we have no word on an official lift on the ban or any new trail initiatives. I have been to several meetings with the county over the last year, but have nothing solid to report atm other than I have been very happy with the county officials. The local bike community, generally speaking, has a fairly good relationship with the other trail users. If you are one of the folks who regularly finds yourself in the res, please keep relations in mind. I will look into the sign thing.
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Ken thanks for the update and the continued advocacy. Please let us know if there is anything we in the Union County MTB community can do to move this forward.
And BTW, trails in Watchung are seriously eroded right now. Mostly from last summer's deluge but also from lack of proper trail maintenance over the years. I know that the Mtb community can and will take better care of the trails .
 
i just went for a walk on the trails during lunch. still too wet for anything to travel over the trails btw. the trails definitely need some work.
 
The master trail plan is completed, and they are beginning the design and engineering phase next month. Cyclists are "most certainly a part of the plan" and they will be reaching out to JORBA when the work begins.

I asked about the signs and didn't get an answer. My stance is to continue to support the land manager and let the official process play out, offering support when appropriate. I know it seems like a glacial pace, but I remain cautiously optimistic that we will see legal access.

The days of banning bikes from the woods in NJ really do need to end, it seems so silly to me.
 
clarkenstein said:
i just went for a walk on the trails during lunch. still too wet for anything to travel over the trails btw. the trails definitely need some work.
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Indeed. These trails are not in good condition at all. The last rain opened up some huge ruts along any of the hills. Ton of work needed to be done in here.
 
KenS said:
The master trail plan is completed, and they are beginning the design and engineering phase next month. Cyclists are "most certainly a part of the plan" and they will be reaching out to JORBA when the work begins.
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Count me In to help.
Have you seen the master plan? I am hoping it's not a gravel path around Surprise Lake. I am hopeful that Jorba can get in Union County and help provide trail guidance and maintenance.
 
KenS said:
The master trail plan is completed, and they are beginning the design and engineering phase next month. Cyclists are "most certainly a part of the plan" and they will be reaching out to JORBA when the work begins.

I asked about the signs and didn't get an answer. My stance is to continue to support the land manager and let the official process play out, offering support when appropriate. I know it seems like a glacial pace, but I remain cautiously optimistic that we will see legal access.

The days of banning bikes from the woods in NJ really do need to end, it seems so silly to me.
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Count me in to help as well. There is a large/passionate group of riders in Union County, many of whom would love to volunteer with design/maintenance.
 
pooriggy said:
Count me In to help.
Have you seen the master plan? I am hoping it's not a gravel path around Surprise Lake. I am hopeful that Jorba can get in Union County and help provide trail guidance and maintenance.
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I have not seen the plan, but also didn't ask to see it. I am maintaining comms, offering assistance and being patient. I really do not want to blow this one.

I really appreciate and respect the local cycling community support in Union and feel that if the county goes with our proposal to help that they will be pleasantly surprised at the results.
 
KenS said:
I really appreciate and respect the local cycling community support in Union and feel that if the county goes with our proposal to help that they will be pleasantly surprised at the results.
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The county is so under budgeted for manpower, a Jorba crew could make a big impression. It would be nice to see a big turnout of support should Jorba get a chance at TM participation.
 
If I can find the time I would be interested in helping/ learning how to do trail maintenance too. Is it a possibility for the mtb ban to be officially lifted and the trail master plan to be put into effect by this summer?
 
That is hard to say Kev, I really don't know. When I hear anything new I'll post up.
 
Ken,

Thanks for all the progress, anything definitive on the lift of the ban? My bike has been way to clean and with all the new Daddy duties my riding time is super limited and would love a place 15 minutes away to ride.
 
I ran into a Police barricade last Tuesday because of the fire behind Bowcraft. The cops told me I couldn't ride south of Skytop and would have to stay in the North side of the park. After a nice conversation with said cops, I was told they are no longer enforcing the no mountain bikes rule. All of the signs have been taken down. There is no ordinance to enforce. I believe it will be some time before an official statement goes out and the park definitely needs a lot of work to make it safe for bikes.
 
Thanks for the encouraging news, this sounds great! Any similar news about SoMo? That would be pretty awesome indeed.
 
bm1981 said:
Ken,

Thanks for all the progress, anything definitive on the lift of the ban? My bike has been way to clean and with all the new Daddy duties my riding time is super limited and would love a place 15 minutes away to ride.
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Although no official news has been published, locals are reporting a soft opening. See Jim's response below.
 
Hey @KenS any plans to form a Union County JORBA chapter? I would definitely be interested to help organize one, and I know there are many others willing to do the same. Please let us know what we can do!! And thanks again for your advocacy.
 
stilluf said:
Hey @KenS any plans to form a Union County JORBA chapter? I would definitely be interested to help organize one, and I know there are many others willing to do the same. Please let us know what we can do!! And thanks again for your advocacy.
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Once things are official we have folks who have offered to start up a chapter, yes. Hit me up at ken@jorba.org, I'll keep you in the loop.
 
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