Local municipalities, bikers tackle trail issues

Srady Fotheringham
Contributing Writce

NORTH Shore mountain bikers and
municipal parks and recreation offi-
cials are developing a framework
that could allow the more hardcore
enthusiast bikers to build structures
on public land without putting the
municipalities at risk should some-
one get injured and launch a lawsuit.

After growing concerns about environmen-
tal erosion, trespassing and above all, legal lia-
bility, West Vancouver council ordered its
municipal parks department a month ago to
take down a number. of structures erected by
mountain bike trail builders.

‘These structures consisted of wooden ramps
and ladders, some of them 20 feet long and
under a foot wide used by experienced bikers te
test their mettle on Cypress Bowl-area hills and
British Pacific Property (BPP) land.

“We're just asserting something that hasn't
been asserted before,” said North Vancouver
District parks manager Cameron Cairncross in
zeference to the implementation of a trail-
building policy.

For years the parks departments of both
West and North Vancouver districts, and to a
lesser extent BPP officials, have been aware of
the hardcore mountain bikers on the North

at this for a long time. We just can’t accept fia-
bility for as far as we're concerned nobody
should be trespassing,” said BPP chairman
Gerald McGavin.

Unlike hikers who technically trespass on
BPP land (generally considered land below the
third switchback on the Cypress Bow! road),
they don’t cause the environmental erosion
that mountain bikers do.

“When vou know a dangerous activity is
going on there then we have to look for the
structures and take them down,” McGavin
said.

Cairncross agrees.

“No one can build aav structures any time
they want. We want to establish a relationship
with the North Shore Mountain Bike
Association and we don’t want any new trails,”
Cairncross said.

The North Shore, touted by Bike magazine,
an influential American publication, as having
the “sickest riding” on the coatinent (a com-
pliment to most bikers), is viewed as a world-
wide destination for mountain bikers.

But the very rainforest environment that is
home to a byzantine trail network on the
Nerth Shore, also fosters a wet muddy envi-
ronment where crosion has becon.e a concern
for all parks officials involved — specifically by
mountain bike tires.

The issues of erosion and legal liability have
brought together a Heinz 57 of public and pri-
vate landlords.

Shore and their desire to push the envelope by The

trying bigger and higher challenges.

“We're pret listeners but we've been
P

North Shore

Mountain

See Liability page %

Bike

Soccer field suppa

Kevin Gillies
News Reporter
“YOUNG soccer players will get
to play on a new field at :
Sunrise Park following North
_ Vancouver City’s endorsement

~ Monday of an earlier decision »

* te build one.

But the decision didn’t come with-*

out controversy. Some Clovericy. area
residents walked out of council cham-
bers angry and disgusted.”
"On Feb. 27 Council vote.’ in favour
lof building an all-weather soccer field
at Sunrise. Park,- near Park and Tilford
Shopping Centre, to address the short-
age .of: soccer’ fields in North
_ Vancouver. oe
‘But an. outery from area residents,
whe want the park-to be cleaned up
and. preserved in its natural state,
caused council to_revisit the issue.
Coun. John Braithwaite, who lives
in the area and signed a petition against
‘the soccer field, ‘asked councillors to

rescind the field. approval. which had -

passed unanimously i in February.

“I'm not going to be: supporting the
motion to rescind a motion we unani-
mously endorsed,” said Coun. Stella Jo
Dean. “Just because it’s called a park

‘doesn’t’ mean you can’t have other
things in it.”

* "But the controversy came when
Coun. Bob Fearnley voted against his
stated intention to support the area res-

_idents.
; “Ie 's very tempting to ) go political

Stabbi

~ cation.

: “Meanwhile Hoffman sid that the stabbing suspect had
fled and was tracked by a police service dog. The suspect ran

/ through a creck to get away.

The suspect was expected to be formally charged with
attempted murder in North Vancouver provincial court yes-

-terday.

the Young Offenders Act..

His name. canner be published as that would contravene |”

Cloverly residents
leave angry about
council direction

and try to find which side has the most
votes with it (the soccer field advo-
cates),” Fearnley said, adding, “But |

don’t care.”

He peinted out his own history of

‘fighting against an unwanted running

track at McMahon Park, but added,
“We've , Bot to put these kids some-
where.” Then he voted not to rescind
the field approval, breaking an antici-
pated 3-3 stalemate.

Councillors Dean, Darrell Mussatto
and Mayor Jack Loucks voted with him
and thé soccer field advocates won by a
slim 4-3 vote.

“The double talk is infuriating,”
Cloverley resident Suzanne Ristic
yelled as she, and about 50 others left
the chamber.

“I thonghr it was a yreat schmoz-
zie,” said resident Peggy Macintosh.
“It was all double talk. There’s a couple
there who want votes from both sides.”

Fearniey later stated that he intend-
ed to introduce a new motion to hold
the field’s development “in abeyance”
until plans to accommodate the soccer
people could be worked out. But par-

fiamentary rules prevent deferring
something once it has been approved.

Cloverley Area. Residents’
Association (CARA} president Terry
Long wasn’t impressed.

“My immediate thought was,
‘who’s running the show here?” There
doesn’t scem to be knowledge of the
rules. For an experienced councillor
there seems to be a lack of knowledge.”
Long said his group | had Fearnley’s

“soft commitment” prior te the meet-
ing.

Fy think it’s a real lesson in acting,”
said local actor, and Cloverley resident,
Jay Brazeau, noting an election is
around the corner. “The greatest thing
that happened tonight was they caught
it on tape.”

For the soccer people, who Long
admitted presented a persuasive argu-
ment, it was a hollow victory.

“I don’t know what that means,”
said Les Sinnott, spokesman for the
North Shere Youth Soccer Association.
“Deferral docsn’t solve it. I don’t chink
it’s over.”

Steve Wilson said, “The issue of the
lack of fields is not over.”

Prior to the vote Sinnott told coun-.
cillors North Vancouver is desperately
short of soccer players and foc the first
time will restrict registration because of
it.

Long said his grou
pressure Fearnley to
back to the table.

On Tuesday morning Fearniey clari-
fied his position by stating: “I did have
another motion in mind. The motion
that was before us, to rescind, in my
mind, was not satisfactory.”

Fearnley said he will have the issue,
featuring his new motion, put on the
next agenda.

would try to
ring the issue

ng suspect caught after chase

The last high-profile violent incident at a North
Vancouver movie theatre occurred on Feb. 28, 1997.

Mohammad Mirhadi, 21, was shot dead at close range.
The North Vancouver man was killed in his seat while

months.

watching the gangster movie, Donnie Brasco.

Mirhadi’s killer, Michael Caster, of North Vancouver,
was 19 at the time of the shooting. Caster was found guilty
of Mirhadi’s first-degree murder this year.

Mirhadi’s death more than two years ago was the last
murder to happen in North Vancouver.

‘Statistically, North Vancouver records a murder every 18

CYCLIST Dylan Reche shows the remains of a ladder once used as part of a
mountain bike trail at Cypress. The tadder was cut up by Wes? Van parks staf.

Two charged in
business scam

Anna Maris D'Angelo
News Retorier dangelo@nsnews.com

TWC people described by police as “travelling
gypsies” were ordered to be kept in jail on
Wednesday foilowing a bail hearing.

Adriana Stanciu, 31, and Cristache Constantine, 43, are -
charged with defrauding a North Vancouver i business owner of
more than $5,000 in March.

Police stated in a press release that three Romanian refugecs
were arrested in connection with the alleged fraud.

One of the three was subsequently released. - v

Information presented at the bail hearing i is banned’ from:
publication. :

North Vancouver - provincial court “juudge Jerome Paradis:
ordered both of the accused detained pending the outcome of :
their charges. =

Constantine stood next to Stanciu in the prisoner’ S box: with, ..
a Romanian interpreter by his side.’ Constantine lowered : his
head in disappointment after the judge’ s. “decisica: was
announced.

Constantine, Stanciu and another woman were: ari ed on
Monday outside Babylon Meat Store in the 100-block of East
3rd Street in North Vancouver. Constantine’s and Stanciu’s
charges do not relate to the Babylon Meats incident. = «°°

According | to the North Vancouver. RCMP, five internation=,
ally connected con artists came to North. Vancouver to scam’:
business people. The scam involved the exchange of American
money for Canadian bills.

In the scam, a con artist approached a business to exchange:
a large sum of American $100 bills for Canadian currency at a

“much lower exchange rate.”

Once the business owner verified the American ‘money’ was::
real, the con artist quickly changed the $100. bills for'smaller :
denominations and, in.some cases, for blank pieces of paper.
The con artist then gave the smaller bills and Pieces. of paper in
exchange for Canadian money.

Police believe the suspects have carried out sim#ar offerices
in Maple Ridge and Vancouver.

Meanwhile Canada Immigration enforcement manager. Rob:
Johnston confirmed that immigration officials were working...
with the:North Vancouver RCMP on the case...

Johnston would only say that one of the two accused peo: le

was “detained under the Immigration Act.” That means It
after the charges are dealt with, the individual will be under” ;
detention through Canada Immigration. °
Johnston. declined to discuss Stanciu’s and Constantinc’s “