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More discussion on the future of access at Vassar Farm

 
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bluebug32



Joined: 10 Oct 2006
Posts: 406
Location: Red Hook

PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:54 am    Post subject: More discussion on the future of access at Vassar Farm Reply with quote

I've been asked to be on the Vassar Farm Committee, and we had our first meeting today. For the most part, Keri summed up our meeting for the group (which is comprised of professors, the CSC, coaches who use the farm, buildings and grounds, and other types of recreational users). She also emphasized that our group of bikers is passionate about the trail system, and that she doesn't believe that we are the ones straying from the trails or building stunts and digging. Some other points:

- Since our last meeting, most of the stunts have been removed from the farm and Keri noted that no one has made an effort to try to rebuild them.

- There is still concern from walkers/birders that mountain bikers are dangerous on narrow trails, though the cross country coach has never had a problem with bikers using the same trails as his runners.

- The group was worried about the additional erosion bikers could cause.

- The main concern is from faculty with research projects at the farm that are destroyed when people build trails off of the existing trail system. There is also a hesitancy to mark these areas, as they are often quite expansive or in different areas. However, it was suggested that many other groups are also going off trail, not just bikers, and that the trail system needs to be better mapped. Trails that are important to us should be mapped as well. Additional signs about staying on the trails, sharing the trails, etc. was suggested, too.

-Other than a liability issue, it sounds like building off-trail is the largest concern for the group.

-Keri will schedule a walk through the farm with bikers to discuss their needs.

A lot of this information is similar to what we discussed in our meeting, and I tried to emphasize the points that we continued to make about being good stewards (able to help with trail building, maintenance, etc.), as well as keeping an eye out for those who are building where they shouldn't. I'll keep updating as we have more meetings. Feel free to keep voicing your concerns and I'll try to bring up as many points as I can.
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bike this



Joined: 13 Nov 2006
Posts: 1166
Location: YKYO

PostPosted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the time and efforts Blue Bug. I appreciate it. And I am here for whatever, and whenever needed. Way to represent girl... Twisted Evil Twisted Evil
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robdamanii



Joined: 24 Oct 2006
Posts: 349
Location: Darth Bailer

PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd like to suggest that the trails that have been neglected (super 8, radio flyer, bojangles, blair, armageddon) be nicely cleaned up, re-routed around rough spots, and then GPS mapped, to have the trails marked out and on paper. This will help maintain the culpability for cyclists that there IS a map out there and we will be sticking to it.

Additionally, I'm curious if there is concern for some of the more sensitive areas. The flood plain, for one thing, would do well with a boardwalk being built over it, both to stop foot traffic from eroding it as well as bike traffic. In other cases, we need to not have people going through and sanitizing the trails, cutting out every log and removing every trail feature.

I'll certainly volunteer some time to rebuild some of those trails and re-route them, and I'll very easily go through and GPS map it. If anyone has any skill with gps file manipulation, we can work to get a map of the trail system out there. If not, I guess I can learn something about it.

For what it's worth. I really miss Radio Flyer and Super 8, and I'd love to see those rebuilt properly and more gooder.
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Tim845



Joined: 02 Sep 2006
Posts: 3684
Location: Poughkeepsie

PostPosted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hiked the 'old trails' recently...kinda sad Sad
Almost as sad as when one of them was permanently lost to a house a few years ago.
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robdamanii



Joined: 24 Oct 2006
Posts: 349
Location: Darth Bailer

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pedaler845 wrote:
I hiked the 'old trails' recently...kinda sad Sad
Almost as sad as when one of them was permanently lost to a house a few years ago.


"old trails" as in...???
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bike this



Joined: 13 Nov 2006
Posts: 1166
Location: YKYO

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aren't they all "old" trails.. Question Question
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Tim845



Joined: 02 Sep 2006
Posts: 3684
Location: Poughkeepsie

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

They all have seen better days.
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g60dude



Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 1303
Location: Mid-town Lake Katrine

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't confirm this and I hope it's just a false rumor, but I was told they wasted Vassar. Went though with a bull dozer. Super 8, Bo Jangles, Blair, gone. The trail to cross the street gone. The teater totter trail gone.

Can anyone else confirm this? Hopefully it's not true.
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bluebug32



Joined: 10 Oct 2006
Posts: 406
Location: Red Hook

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Depends on your definition of gone. Yes, all the wooden stunts and dirt jumps have been removed (or awkwardly moved to the side of the trails where the chance of injury is now greater) because of liability issues. The trails on the south side (Super 8, bojangles, etc.) are in need of some major trail work, and I think those are the trails we will have to fight hard to keep. The bojangles bridge is still in tact (meaning not torn down, but planks are missing and it's not rideable). Church trails are still there and in good condition (not owned by Vassar).

This issue is still very much alive, so I would encourage anyone to write to Keri, who is recording our comments. [email protected].
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jmagik172



Joined: 27 Mar 2008
Posts: 57
Location: Pok, NY

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:05 pm    Post subject: Vassar could be good again... Reply with quote

The trails are not "wasted". There are couple of annoying areas where it has been decided to trim our options as far as forks in the road go. Now there is only a single way to make a loop around the property. The only bulldozing casualties are the BMX bowl and the line of jumps in the North West corner.

Beth has the right idea. We need to prioritize our wants for this place and fight for them. The Super8/BoJang/Blair/Apocolypse trail system should be cleaned, mapped, and linked to the "Green" Trail on the South East side and a suggestion of some foot bridge creation (that is ridable) across the stream and in the wet land area below the conservation center would be great.

Otherwise this place will not be much different than it used to be. The Church trails are in good shape and some effort has gone into grooming the whole loop.

Is there another meeting scheduled or should we be sending individual comments to Keri?
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robdamanii



Joined: 24 Oct 2006
Posts: 349
Location: Darth Bailer

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Vassar could be good again... Reply with quote

jmagik172 wrote:


Beth has the right idea. We need to prioritize our wants for this place and fight for them. The Super8/BoJang/Blair/Apocolypse trail system should be cleaned, mapped, and linked to the "Green" Trail on the South East side and a suggestion of some foot bridge creation (that is ridable) across the stream and in the wet land area below the conservation center would be great.



My thoughts on this exactly. If we have these trails mapped via GPS, well marked with signs that have the name on them, and have them posted on a map with the IMBA trail rules and the Vassar Farm rules, it makes a very compelling argument towards keeping all those trails, and keeping them in good shape. Someone already PMed me about being able to help create a nice printable map from a .gpx file, so that's a good start. What we'll really need when this comes down to it is manpower to make it work.

Apocalypse can still be interesting without the teeter totter, and it can still be re-cut a little bit to make it interesting, Super 8 needs major re-cutting and marking, Blair is still in OK shape, but it needs some work to re-route around some huge deadfalls (I don't think over is valid anymore), BoJang needs to have the bridge rebuilt solid as hell over the wetland section (this is not a stunt as much as an environmental safety feature), and there needs to be a bridge/boardwalk over the stream/floodplain, for both foot traffic AND bike traffic.
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tom church



Joined: 20 Sep 2006
Posts: 533
Location: Beacon

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Admittingly this all brings a tear to my eye...its the end of an era for me...

I learned how to DJ on those jumps (they had been there for 10-15 years) and I learned how to ride bridges back there. I did a lot of maint and building there back in the day...ahh... life goes on...

I'll post some pics and a vid or two later...

Tom
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