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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, September 13, 2021 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 2 of 9 <br /> <br />CONSENT AGENDA – Continued <br /> <br />Crosby moved, Printup seconded, to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. VOTE: Ayes 5, <br />Nays 0. <br />PUBLIC COMMENTS <br />Pat Steiner, 4461 Bayside Road, read a statement around mountain biking and permission in Lowry <br />Woods and Bederwood Park: <br /> <br />“I would like to ensure that the City Council performs an environmental impact study (EIS) on the impact <br />of mountain biking to the trails and off-trail areas of these parks before making any decision. There are <br />many EIS’s that have been done but universities user-permit applications cite research that suggests that <br />mountain biking causes similar environmental impact to the soil, vegetation, invasive pests, and those <br />sorts of things, as does hiking. Although this is an important piece of information, I believe a more <br />important point is that most of the ecological affect is generated in the first few uses (University of <br />Calgary and multiple sources) and off-trail use can quickly lead to the establishment of informal, visitor- <br />created trails that unnecessarily remove vegetation-cover and spread non-native plants.” <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh asked Mr. Steiner if he has ever been to Bederwood Park. <br /> <br />Mr. Steiner replied in the negative but stated he has been to Lowry Woods. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh noted there is nothing going on at Bederwood and if Mr. Steiner has not been there it is <br />hard to make statements and questions. <br /> <br />Mr. Steiner stated he would restrict his comments to Lowry Woods. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh replied they are not doing anything at Lowry Woods. <br /> <br />Mr. Steiner said his comments would be for future reference. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh asked if Mr. Steiner is part of the group taking pictures and video-taping children in the <br />woods? <br /> <br />Mr. Steiner replied in the negative and has no knowledge of that. He said at least for Lowry Woods, it is <br />the off-trail piece that causes significant damage, including soil erosion, damaging of native plants, and <br />potential spread of invasive species. He has some citations to justify those remarks and he is happy to <br />leave it with the Council. He said in the last 12 months he has personally witnessed many incidences <br />(more than 5) of off-road trail use in Lowry Woods; this was exemplified by the number of off-road tire <br />tracks left after snowfalls the previous year. It is his contention that signs will not prevent this off-trail <br />behavior. In Lowry Woods bikes were prohibited yet there were many bikes and many off-road uses. He <br />personally witnessed the soil erosion at his previous home after three years which made the trails <br />unusable. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh asked where Mr. Steiner lived previously.