Re: Colwood boys build mountain bike track (Gazette, March 30)
The first part of this article was a joy to read. It was wonderful to learn about those boys out in nature using their brains and muscles to create a useful trail. The story brought back happy memories of my friends and I doing exactly the same thing in the woods just east of Ottawa.
What a shock to learn that some manager at the CRD decided to destroy what the boys had created. Surely the time and talent of CRD Parks staff could be used to improve things rather than to make things worse.
Apparently, the boys were creating a potential safety hazard for users of the Galloping Goose. If so, they should have been directed to stop doing that. Wrecking their trail was a huge over-reaction.
The CRD suggested that the boys get their parents to drive them out to Mount Work Regional Park whenever they want to use their mountain bikes.
Could that trip be made before and after school on all sunny days? Do the parents have time to do all that driving? Do they have money for the fuel? What about the environmental damage caused by the driving?
The trivial damage caused by the amateur trail is negligible compared to the damage from building the road to the park and adding to car traffic.
Congratulations to the boys for their initiative and hard work. Shame on the CRD for wasting employee skills and my taxes on such a foolish and wasteful effort.
David Stocks
Colwood