"Watch out for the chunk Daniel!" Hahaha awesome! This was a great day. Amazing research and video. It's incredible how much history is in this killer spot.
Having been directly involved in many of the "battles" discussed in this video, I was quite leery to click on this video link that was sent to me this afternoon bringing the video to my attention. Just the title alone made me nervous, afraid that someone may be wanting to wake the dog that has been sleeping peacefully for a few years now. Having watched the video though, I would like to thank the video creator for presenting a truthful and accurate summary of these issues and the struggles that we faced over the years in efforts to keep the trails open once the BCCP became involved. Our successes to continue to keep this Texas gem open are largely due to the many park users, mountain bikers, Greenbelt advocates, hikers and many others that were willing to make themselves noticed by showing up and in many cases speaking up at many of the public meetings when these particular topics were being discussed. The permit mentioned in the video is coming up for renewal, so we all need to be prepared to maybe step up again to fight another fight to keep the park open. Stay tuned!
Wow, thanks for the comment Chris, and more importantly for fighting for Emma Long! I struggled with putting this video out there because of the sensitive nature of the topic, but I've had a lot of positive feedback so I hope it does some good for the community and helps folks understand the efforts it took to create and keep open one of the city's most unique parks.
Good video, Clint. Appreciate the info! I started riding there in the early 90s when it opened to MTBs and knew of some of the controversy. I might peruse the document you used for this just for grins.
I think the Emma long trail is a perfect example of how motorcyclists and mtbers are perfectly capable of getting along and sharing trails. Same goes for mtb trails when I ride my Surron on them. Respect and courtesy go a long way! At the end of the day, it’s us vs the hikers anyway.
Good informational video!! That was the first park where my helmet was used as its intended function back in the late 90's on a mountain bike! We also use to ride this place we called "cherry ridge" that around the 360 and bull creek area, it had a water tower on top and you would sometimes see horses up on that big hill. Anyone know what happed to that place?
City Park is all about the knar! Been riding that one since I was a kid riding a rigid Mongoose MTB. Have done those trails on rigid mtb, hardtail mtb, FS mtb, XR80, TTR125L, YZ250F, YZ125, and even a KTM 640 adventure enduro bike. Love it. Thank you for the history and vid!
We face the same fights for The Sam Houston Multi-Use trails. They close them on a drop of rain. Some have been closed going on 5 years because of one of the perscribed burns damaged a bridge that hasn't been repaired. Seems like the goal of all these groups is to close access. Good Luck Emma Long Park.
I would bet there are very few BCCP administrators that use or would use the park just to walk it. Same for the people that complain about those who do. Its a "NIMBY" mentality.
