After months of confidential mediation with parties that oppose sharing trails with bikes, Marin Water staff has settled with the litigants and agreed to rescind the two previously approved pilots. A modified two-year Class 1 E-bike pilot will be allowed to proceed. Read on to learn about Marin Water’s Pilot Program Update.
Settling this lawsuit will avoid a potentially drawn-out court battle, but it has thrown out years of public outreach and thorough research, not to mention goodwill from all parties. It prevents data collection on what impact adding bikes to trails would have (if any) and thereby hinders the ability to use science to guide decision-making.
Our disappointment and frustration are deep. The actions of a few disgruntled people at the California Native Plant Society, Marin Conservation League, and Marin Audubon Society have reignited the false narrative that riding a bike and conservation are in opposition.
Although this is a setback, we must remember how far we’ve come. Class 1 E-bikes will no longer be illegal on the watershed, and Marin Water staff and board are pursuing ways for bikes to share trails; this in itself is monumental. The trail-sharing pilot program did not work out, but the goal remains the same.
We know it is only a matter of time before bikes can legally share the trails on Mount Tam. We will keep showing up until that day comes. Click here for MCBC’s timeline of the Marin Water Pilot Trail program.
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