The City of Kelowna has made us aware of some unauthorized building in Knox Mtn. Park. We were invited to come out and see the site, meet the media, and observe the decommissioning of the jumps.
On inspection of the site, it was clear that these were well built jumps, and that a reasonable amount of work went into them. The site was very clean and well looked after. It was in a an area of good soil for building. It wasn’t in an area of prime environmental concern. In fact, this was a very well built jump zone except for one underlying and important issue:
This was not a sanctioned build, and as such we cannot support or condone it.
The City has made it clear that they don’t enjoy doing this. However, their hands are tied. Without going through the proper approval process, it can’t be allowed to stay.
The new reality is that we MUST seek approval through the proper channels if we want to continue to pursue this activity. This may be too slow for some, and it may be frustrating for many, but if we can show a little patience and forbearance we will be able to build properly sanctioned riding areas that will be the envy of every other municipality in BC.
The MTBco is committed to the process of working with all levels of government to secure a future for our sport in the area. While we can’t approve of rogue building like this, we hope that it demonstrates to the community the pressing need for developing sanctioned areas for cyclists to pursue their sport.
