Public Input @ 22:23, April 11th, 2016
Your Worship, Council and Mr. Stuart
Last night I provided public input on the subject of public safety, I provided that input on request of others who fear for their safety, the safety of their families and the security of their property specifically from members of the NSMBA. They do not consider council chambers a place of refuge where they can provide input. Apparently they do consider that I do not back down from bullying and threats.Councillor Bond's diatribe directed at me proves their concerns.Instead of disavowing anti-Semitism and violence on Fromme trails Bond lite into me like a cruise missile. Not one of you rose to defend, not me, but others who may have been threatened by the map and the narrative that followed. It was transparent to me, that you agreed on the approach during the special closed meeting. I trust you had never seen that map before I presented. If yes, than I pray for us all.It does not help the matter that you fund $100,000 to the NSMBA. On the advice of the RCMP who tell me they do not enforce the Community Charter, it appears the only way to challenge that particular is through the Supreme Court where the DNV can rely on the public treasury to fund a defence. That is what I called institutionalized bullying.I started mountain biking, including racing holding a semi-pro license in 1995. I love the sport. I have biked in a wide variety of places around the world. The NSMBA is a bizarre organization which fails to comply with even rudimentary trail etiquette and land conservation. The threats by NSMBA members against others are unprecedented and chilling.I request a public hearing on the matter.Regards
You are welcome to forward the email below along with the attached public input to anyone interested.
It is my position there needs to be a Public Hearing on the matter with everyone allowed to attend and speak safely.Regards
Hazen S. Colbert
81 comments:
I wonder why the North Shore News didn't report this last week?
"anti-Semitism and violence on Fromme trails"
I wasn't at the meeting last night, but I have to ask... are you suggesting that there is NSMBA endorsed anti-Semitism and violence? or are you suggesting that a particular biker or bikers has made anti-Semitic, violent, threats?
Your comments conjure images of burning crosses on Pink Starfish, and jack booted thugs waiting at the Old Buck parking lot. I hope that isn't the case.
Also, I am not surprised that the current council isn't jumping to your defense, as you have treated them very poorly in the past. Yes they should rise above, but how do you treat the people that do stick their neck out for you?
How many people remember the newstory about the hiker who was thrown down to the ground and badly bitten by the young adult girl mountainbiker? They don't realize that NSMBA directors and members were involved in verbally and physically harassing this poor woman after this happened. She called them them the Watchmen. Other mountain bikers harassed her with phone calls for almost a year afterwards. Don't know if they were NSMBA members.
This poor woman, a neighbour of mine, does not hike anywhere near mountain bike trails anymore. I don't blame her. We have some serious problems that need to be addressed.
Posting a map with swastikas drawn over the locations of people's homes and labeling people in Upper Lynn as trail Nazis raises questions of anti-Semitism. Councillor Bond posting that he got a laugh from the map raises all manner of questions. Colbert's letter to council did not ask he be defended, On the contrary it questioned why DNV Council did not rise to disavow the map and defend residents of Upper Lynn Valley. He does not live in Upper Lynn Valley. Human rights and public safety are not popularity contests. What Colbert has said, good or not so good, to DNV Council does not allow them to abdicate ensuring the safety of all constituents. http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?p=2333498#post2333498
Mayor Walton and his council are absolutely corrupt. Staff is complicit in this corruption.
I really feel for the staff who are not onboard with this travesty and want to protect their livelihoods.
The DNV will feel the wrath when all is revealed soon.
Not all council or staff or complicit in the corruption. There is no evidence of Doug MacKay Dunn or James Hanson being involved in anything untoward. However it is true that the General Manager of Planning, Permits and Bylaws took retirement earlier this year rather than answer questions from a criminal complaint to the RCMP raising questions about irregularities in development bylaw approvals and reconciliation of community amenity contributions.
Anti semitism?
Trail Nazi has become a generic term for a person who vandalizes trails and endangers trail users by their actions. There is no anti-semitism implied. If the person making this complaint is not a gentile I would be surprised if the person who made the map has any idea of his religion, and even more surprised if his religion has anything to do with the ill-advised map additions.
I'd go as far as to say that this person is delusional.
"I'm going to warn you these images are graphic."
The nsmba and nsmb.com are entirely distinct organizations and neither can be held accountable by what was posted by a user on a bulletin board. This has been proven in court again and again.
Anyone sending images of smoking guns has clearly crossed the line and is putting the good work of the nsmba and others in jeopardy. Regardless, Mr. Colbert seems keen to go to war and to overreact to images on his computer screen.
Another tempest in a teapot.
This is a public safety matter. The details include violent and anti-Semitic posts on nsmb.com as well as conflict & violence on Fromme trails for which no monopoly is held by any party. But the matter is broader. It includes vandalism of people's homes in Upper Lynn Valley by mountain bikers being denied access to residents' garden hoses, and DWI by drivers departing the Fromme bike parking lot. It includes drowning deaths at Lynn Canyon and serious injuries at the Seymour. The NSMBA simply gets more public coverage. The matter raised at DNV Council is that municipal hall is failing its legislated mandate to ensure public safety and is derelict as land manager. The response by Councillor Bond is to drop the F-bomb and impugn the integrity of anyone speaking at public input on the matter, and Mayor Walton censoring submissions. Also worrisome is DNV Council not disavowing Councillor Bond's affirmation of the alleged anti-Semitism on nsmb.com. The matter is heading to court. Court is not war. Adversaries meet in court in a civil manner. War is the inaccurate label left to members of the NSMBA who are regrettably fueled not by knowledge and compassion but by testosterone, adrenaline and cannabis. Today's date is one in which hikers should avoid Fromme trails and drivers should be wary of swerving vehicles pulling out of the Fromme parking lot. That is the public safety reality.
Will District of North Vancouver make a sober decision to refuse giving 100 grand to the mountain bikers? The growing evidence against them doesn't look very good. There is so much trailbuilding on our mountains it's become a real bad mess. Any hiker can see that.
Extremely bad move to inject cannabis into the matter. Irrelevant and a diversion from the real matters.
The reference to cannabis while operating a car, truck or mountain bike refers to a public safety concern, DWI, for which the RCMP is very well aware. The matter was discussed by an RCMP representative last year at Lynn Valley Days in great detail. RCMP members at North Shore detachment will gladly discuss the matter. A DNV Councillor, a former cop, was once asked what innovation in policing would he like to see. His response was immediate and unequivocal, "A scientific tool to measure impairment from marijuana use."
Diversion!
The mountain bikers are taking over our mountains and are subsidized by DNV Council. They are a very small special interest group and the taxpayers are actually paying for this carnage.
Diversion of the actual issue.
It's happened Anon 1:57 pm
UBC professor develops marijuana breathalyzer
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/ubc-professor-develops-marijuana-breathalyzer-1.2867706
As the federal government prepares to unveil its marijuana legislation next spring, a researcher at the University of British Columbia has successfully created a breathalyzer test capable of measuring THC levels.
Diversion!!
The corrupt DNV council is subsidizing healthy young males (90% of mountain bikers are between the ages of 15 and 45 and are male) to ruin our forests. Fact.
Sometimes actions are not "Anti-Semitic," they're just stupid and juvenile.
And sometimes well-meaning people inflate stupid and juvenile nonsense to make it seem more threatening than it really is.
I'd suggest that humour minded NSMBikers instead refer to "Trail Republicans," an appellation that I'm sure most people would find equally descriptive.
How about Trump bullies? Same idea. The NSMBA are bullies. Arrogant SOB bullies.
Barry Rueger has a very good idea. It is possible for NSMBA members to make a point without being offensive. Replacing the phrase "trail Nazis" with "tree huggers" maintains the political edge, is humorous, removes the malice, and, in fact, is actually accurate in an ironic way.
Given the extreme sense of entitlement the mountain bikers believe they have, their use of the forests is simply incompatible with other uses from the standpoints of safety and resource protection.
reading this disjointed non-sense, it seems that most of you are the ones that are high...that 'map' image is 6 years old
"Posting a map with swastikas drawn over the locations of people's homes and labeling people in Upper Lynn as trail Nazis raises questions of anti-Semitism" ...
So... if the People of Upper Lynn are the Nazis... uh...WHO are the Semites?
Or is the map posted by anti-Nazis not anti-Semites?
Confoozing.
Drawing swastikas on homes is anti-Semitism no matter who drew the swastikas and whom lives in the homes. Canadian law is very clear on the matter.
http://www.cjnews.com/news/canada/vandals-deface-laval-homes-cars-with-swastikas
During the April 11, 2016 Councillor Bond appeared to defend the drawing of swastikas over the location of people's homes by saying the post could have come from anywhere in the word. Mr. Bond failed to note that the poster actually lives on the North Shore. Councillor Bond also implied that the poster MrBond could have come from anywhere in world, failing to note that MrBond lives in Lynn Valley. Is MrBond=Councillor Bond? Please answer the question Councillor Bond?
I think councillor Bond should recuse himself from any and all dealings where the issue of mountain biking is concerned in the DNV. He was President of the NSMBA and was/is a member of that organization. He can not possibly have an unbiased or non conflicting view of the issue of mountain biking. For him to do so would be,sheer arrogance. You may argue the contrary that he has good experience to offer on that subject, but in fact he should be hanging his head in shame even to consider it.
Walton is complicit.
What is his game?
I hear he is not running for mayor next time around.
Perhaps he has realized that his jovial nature will not get him any further in politics when he is a corrupt capitalist and totally against any environmental concerns.
Maybe he will follow former Coun. Alan Nixon and become a flak for developers.
This is what he does best. Ruin our communities in the DNV.
Councillor Bond has stopped posting here (albeit anonymously) once asked to confirm, or not, that MrBond=Councillor Bond. If his defense to affirming the map with swastikas is that the map is not anti-Semitic or that it does not matter because the map was posted six years ago, then why is Councillor Bond afraid to fess up to the identity of MrBond? This is not the first time Councillor Bond has been asked this question on this blog. Posting as Councillor Bond, he was asked on November 23, 2014, less than a week subsequent to winning election to disavow the map and explain the identity of MrBond. Just as he is now, he is avoiding coming clean. It seems he is willing to allow questions about systemic anti-Semitism at municipal hall to bring down all of DNV Council rather than manning up himself.
Bond is the scapegoat here. Walton and his council, with the exception of Lisa Muri, Jim Hanson, and Doug McKay-Dunn have continuously endorsed the travesty called mountain biking. Illegal trails, harassment of the residents in adjacent areas, and the fact that the DNV subsidizes a very small special interest group composed mainly of HEALTHY YOUNG MALES, when this money should be channeled elsewhere.
There is little or no concern about the environment. Hard riding on soft terrain is not sustainable.
Walton should know better. But he is not that bright. He is being manipulated.
The DNV is a corrupt municipality at ALL LEVELS.
Lisa Muri loves the mountain bikers. Don't kid yourself. Lisa endorses the mountain bikers more than you think. Lisa's similar to the kind of environmentalist Janice Harris was as Councillor and Mayor. That doesn't count for much.
Careful what you say
Bout the NSMBA
You get Mark Wood Pissed
You'll be the one to get Dissed
Anon. 11:13
This exactly exemplifies the bullying tactics of the NSMBA.
I'm sooooo scared!
Piss off freaks. You do not own the forest. All is coming down on you. In other jurisdictions mountain biking is banned. It is just a matter of time before your wayward ways are dealt with by the laws of your community.
Mr. Mark Wood and his ilk have targeted a 70-year-old woman with arthritis and whose husband is battling cancer.
Who would possibly be proud of promoting such a public image?
Mountain bikers across the continent hold their heads in shame at the antics of the NSMBA. The anti-Semitic and violent images on nsmb.com originate with NSMBA members.
Yes, the organization has been successful raising money, mostly because of the cronyism at DNV Municipal Hall originating in the Mayor's office, a bullying SOB and a man as honest as a $3 bill. Again who would be proud of such a reputation?
It's already happening in Marin California. People are getting really pissed off at the mountain bikers and starting to really come down hard on them.
Why is this? Perhaps because the ugly bad nature of this rogue sport hasn't changed since its rogue beginnings? It's a sport that has never actually become legit because of this very reason.
Mayor Walton and Councilor Bond are the epitome of everything wrong with mountain biking on our North Shore.
What really slays me is that the DNV taxpayers are on the hook for these rogues. Why?
Why on earth are we supporting these people? And where is the public debate? And why is the NSN complicit in this?
I just don't get it.
The only answer is corruption at DNV hall.
Colbert asked for a public hearing on public safety at the April 18, 2016 Council meeting. In response Mayor Walton continually interrupted Colbert finally shouting out that DNV Council is not responsible for public safety when a 3rd part organization is involved, then told Colbert to shut up. When Colbert continued to request public safety be addressed Clerk James Gordon turned off Colbert's microphone while Walton hurled invective at him.
How dare anyone stand up to El Presidente for Life Ricardo Walton.
"The only answer is corruption at DNV hall."
There is another answer... you're wrong. 95% of the community has no negative interaction with the mountain bikers and there are actually a lot of people who support it. Plus, the politicians are pragmatic. They aren't going to stick their neck out unless the support is there, and simply put, it is a good way to have some influence over the trail building on the North Shore
Your accusations that there are kick backs or corruption are unsubstantiated and cowardly. Come out of the shadows, make your claim and have it tested in the courts.
There is a 160 page submission sitting with the North Shore RCMP that alleges corruption at DNV municipal hall. The file remains open as the standard the Crown applies is set very, very high. The submission is silent on kick backs as no such allegations have ever been made, publicly, anonymously or otherwise. I do not see the words kick backs used on this thread either. By the way, kick backs are not necessarily criminal nor a matter for the courts to review particularly at the municipal government level. Corruption also does not necessarily indicate criminal activity. Corruption can simply be nepotism and cronyism which again, certainly at the municipal level, are not crimes.
"Qui cum canibus concumbunt cum pulicibus surgent."
(He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas)
District Council should be cautious of the NSMBA company they keep. Associating with those of low reputation may not only lower their own but also lead them astray by the faulty assumptions, premises and data of the unscrupulous.
The NSMBA will be having a Town Hall Meeting this Wednesday April 27th at 8:00 at
Lynn Valley Recreation Center
3590 Mt Hwy
http://www.nsmba.ca/content/2016-02_town-hall-2016-0
Anyone with an opinion should go there and express it.
Unless the Town Hall is hosted by a professional, independent moderator it is not a safe place for people to express concerns about threats and anti-Semitic content originating locally on nsmb.com. If Mark Wood and Lee Lau cannot even be civil to each other, how can residents with opinions that differ from the NSMBA schtik expect Vince and Mark to be civil to them?
I wonder if Councillor/NSMBA member(?) Mathew Bond will be present at this Town Hall meeting? He was there last year:
COMMENTS FROM COUNCILLOR BOND (2015 NSMBA Town Hall minutes)
● DNV council welcome feedback from the community: council@dnv.org.
● Council recently provided $100, 000 to NSMBA budget for trail maintenance (note from NSMBA: Hoping to hire 4 students, for a four person trail crew)
● All Access Trail: we need the community, not just the NSMBA, or the councillor, but a private citizen to champion
QUESTION: WHAT ARE OBJECTIONS TO THE ALL ACCESS TRAIL?
● response from Councillor Bond: may not be a priority, have other things, no one to champion
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BybBpJdymDJvZ053dk1lVXFPYnM/view?pref=2&pli=1
If you people have questions for your councillors, then show up to a council meeting and participate in the process. Come out from behind the anonymity of your computers and have the moral fibre to stand in front of the people you are accusing of corruption and misbehaviour.
The rules of public input prohibit any statements from the public that impugn an individual. Those rules are posted both at the public input sign up table in the hall as well as the public input table in council chambers.In council chambers there is a power imbalance. Citizens are not allowed to impugn individuals but both council and staff are not only allowed to impugn people at public input, if their words are defamatory, they can then rely on the public treasury to fund a defense. Recently Councilor Bond made a statement that an individual in the assembly had "threatened" members of council. Bond's statement was actionable in civil court as the RCMP had investigated and found that under the definition of threat in the criminal code, no threats had been made. Bond subsequently refused to apologize for his allegation and he can rely on the public treasury to provide him a gold plated defense in the event of court action. In such an environment who lacks moral fibre? Who would risk raising a legitimate matter knowing they will be set upon and defamed?
A senior hiker told me that the trails were not as safe as the NSMBA, District Council and the media like to pretend it is. People are scared of retaliation from the NSMBA members who still believe that they are patched Watchmen of the forests.
This is why so many posters to this particular blog post wish to remain anonymous -- unless they are friendly with the NSMBA. Or have need to threaten us again, like Anon. April 22, 2016 11:13:00 pm
The trails have never been in better shape. As a hiker I will attest to that.
The watchman program, with its fascist imagery, was a brainchild of Mark Wood. Good thing they didn't do anything with that program, now if only if they could get ride of the real problem - the idea that bikers are the boss of the trails.
The trails may be in better shape, but there are far too many of them being built. The methods they use to build these trees, degrade the forest, vegetation and the stability of the trees. Too much a good thing, can't be called good.
I meant "trails", not "trees". oops
"By the way, kick backs are not necessarily criminal nor a matter for the courts to review particularly at the municipal government level. Corruption also does not necessarily indicate criminal activity. Corruption can simply be nepotism and cronyism which again, certainly at the municipal level, are not crimes."
The weasel words are killing me. You accuse the District of Corruption, and then you give an example of what corruption may look like, but you don't go so far as to actually make an accusation so it can be challenged. What gives? Are you accusing the district of nepotism? If so say the names and move it to the courts. Are you accusing the district of cronyism? If so say what person was given a position without having necessary qualifications and move it to the courts.
Your comments are troubling. Comments by idiots are also troubling. See how I have left a disconnect so after the fact I can say I never called you an idiot? Same mechanics.
Regarding the comment immediately above, there is no allegation of corruption at "the District." The post refers to DNV Municipal Hall. As for cronyism the only people who might miss seeing that at municipal hall would have to be cognitively impaired. The entitlement of some groups and people at municipal hall is so great that they cannot see the forest for the trees (pun intended).
Cronyism very specifically refers to someone who is hired for a position and IS NOT QUALIFIED.
Paying someone to maintain trails is not cronyism, paying the NSMBA to maintain trails is not cronyism, paying the Mayors golf foursome to maintain the trails IS cronyism, although I hear they spend a lot of time in the woods.
"there is no allegation of corruption at "the District.""
There have been six allegations of corruption at the District in this post alone. I suspect due to the cadence of the posts that 5 of those allegations belong to you.
Who is in the Mayor's foursome? TMZ is waiting to publish the information....where is Harvey Levin when you need him?
In any event Walton has been lost in the woods for some time. But myopia is not corruption. We all have uncles like that...nice to spend time with, great stories...generous at Christmas but they do not get keys to the car or operate a chainsaw.
As for no corruption at municipal hall I suggest you audit the development and transportation bylaws for Canyon Springs using a tape measure on the roads and a calculator (for counting the $ amount of CACs paid - fyi rocks from Seymour River and promotional expenses of the developer are not cacs).
Shouldn't the members of the NSMBA be paying to maintain the trails they use, not the District? Why would District taxpayers be on the hook to maintain bike trails used by people from Burnaby for no charge?? What is the economic value to the District of someone driving from the City of Vancouver to Fromme, parking in a lot paid for by District taxpayers, riding for free on trails maintained by taxpayers from the District, then driving back to Vancouver? The District increased fees for soccer field use by 33%, and all the players live in the District. Why no fees for NSMBA trail users?
You don't suppose all those non-resident users of the trails (there are both bikers and hikers) might actually stop for coffee or a meal while they visit the North Shore, do you? Maybe fill up the gas tank, or stop in to a local bike shop to buy a spare part or have a repair made? By supporting local businesses, non-resident users of parks and trails are contributing to the tax base by supporting local business. If you want to start excluding people from the amenities of the District, perhaps you'd also be in favour in other communities barring you from using theirs?
And by the way, I think the mountain bike club actually does maintain the trails and host several trail maintenance days. I may be mistaken, but I think I read that somewhere. Do any local hikers groups do anything to maintain the trails?
Good points. Indeed while vising the North Shore there is some money left there. Since you mention the North Shore, how much money does the City of North Vancouver contribute to maintaining the trails since visitors might well buy the coffee and gas there? How much money does the NSMBA get from the City? None, you say. Why not? What amenities in the City are free to residents of the District? Should not our discussion take place in council chambers with media present and the opportunity for public input before $100,000 is handed out per year rather than in the committee room after a 2 minute discussion and no public input if only to ensure transparency?
Help me understand, are public amenities to be reserved solely for the use of the people who live in a particular community? Is that what you want to start for the DNV? How do you control that? Put up a wall around the community? Sounds to me like some of you want a gated community. If you don't want non-residents in your community, what's to prevent neighbouring communities from not letting you out? I think some people have lost sight of the meaning of community and have replaced it with enclave.
Outdoor public amenities often come with risk. The role of land manager, on Fromme, Lynn Canyon, the Seymour, Cates Landing, Quarry Rock etc is to ensure the safety of everyone, residents and visitors. Sadly there is evidence that the land manager, in this case the DNV, is relying on other parties, the NSMBA, NSR etc to fill in massive gaps in the DNV's legislated responsibility. The problem with outsourcing to the NSMBA is that its resources go to its members, not to the general population whether residents or visitors. The NSMBA has shot itself in the foot by lobbying against the new Societies Act which extends its responsibilities outside its member base when it is a publicly funded organization. I am all for $100,000 a year (actually I would go even higher). But With a detailed service level agreement, a written requirement to respond adequately to concerns of non-members and especially local residents. a requirement for annual passes for all trail users, and oversight by an independent group. Is anyone open to discussing these obligations?
Annual passes to use a public resource?! You think your taxes are high now...
We should have annual passes for sidewalks and roads too, because there are far too many freeloaders from other communities.
The DNV Budget is ~$134 million dollars this year, $100,000 plus some staff time is peanuts to maintain the trails criss-crossing 20 square kilometers of North Van... if it meets our legal obligation to maintain that area.
Kids who play soccer on fields pay fees to use the fields - a pubic resource. Why not mountain bikers?
Is it odd that same person who spends his day in Coquitlam evaluating how to toll public roads, bridges and highways, all public resources, as part of TDM does not want the identical model to apply to him when he gets home to ride his bike on trails.
Will hikers also be required to pay fees to use the trails in your world?
I am certain that the good staff of the District working independently can provide an analysis of which recreational/economic models might work. This is a model I know well and suggest be applied http://www.conservationhalton.ca/park-details?park=kelso. But it is on the pricey side. I also know many other similar models which are more economical, many in Quebec and the United States, and would be pleased to provide them to staff. With respect to environmental sustainability and mountain biking, the best mix I have seen and experienced is in Moab. The issue of passes for locals v tourists is not unusual in many jurisdictions. Trail maintenance is not just about the physical creation etc of trails but the administrative infrastructure including human talen necessary to manage the relationship between land and land users.
I hear your point about the organized teams paying for the fields, but it should be noted that they only pay $314,000 of the $1.1 million that goes into sports fields, and they get the exclusive use of that field for their scheduled times. Also it should be noted that when the fields are not scheduled for organized team use they are closed to the general public so they are paying for a fairly exclusive use of public property. The NSMBA has no such exclusive use of the trails, any member of the public can use those trails, and many of the trails are popular with hikers, runners, equestrian, etc.
Also, the Parks departments operations expenditures are $6.7 million this year, of which only $250,000 (3.7%) goes into all trails.
If someone from the DNV drives over to Stanley Park to walk the seawall for 2 hours, they pay $7.00 to park. if someone from Vancouver drives to the DNV ride on the bike trails, they pay nothing for the trail and nothing to park. I suggest the cost of building the Fromme parking lot and maintaining the bike trails is considerably higher per user than the seawall. "User fee" was not my model. But just and equitable fees are my model. In any event, isn't our exchange the type of discourse that should be allowed in Council Chambers?
Stanley Park can charge for parking because there isn't a neighborhood anywhere near there where traffic can overflow to. The parking lot on Braemar is to help alleviate the busyness that has overflowed into the neighborhood. We are not a big city, but we do have regional attractions, and in this instance the best way to help keep the neighborhood feel is to move the problem out of the way. You may want some annoying Resident Only Parking/Pay Parking/Membership Fee/Licensing system, I'd just rather build the lot and monitor how it affects the neighborhood.
Exclusive use is the key to this whole debate. I like that I can just hop on the bikes with the kids and ride around the trails in my neighborhood without having to join an association, pay dues, and license all of our bikes. It seems to offend you that someone somewhere may be able to recreate for low cost or free, but I think that is a critical piece to having a healthy community.
It is not an issue of offending. It is an issue of experience. I have experience with all the recent issues in the DNV regarding parking, trail use etc. in the past and elsewhere many times previously. The recreational uses all started at the simple grassroots level and eventually grew so large in scope that they threatened to get out of control as has the environmental damage from trail building on Fromme. In some cases, when municipal governments twiddled their thumbs, more senior levels of government acted and trail access was simply prohibited. I do not want that to happen. The successful municipal communities were the ones that eventually introduced an administrative infrastructure complete with controlled access, fees, licenses, audits etc. That is the role of a municipal government, not proclaiming Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, establishing development moratoriums because a councilor's wife thinks the traffic is bad, censoring public input, turning a blind eye to tragic deaths at Lynn Canyon and endorsing Internet images of guns pointed at local residents.
Re Stanley Park and neighborhoods. The West End neighborhood and its roads are completely integrated with Stanley Park particularly the roads accessing the Stanley Park tennis courts and Lost Lagoon as well as both Second and Third Beaches. I would be happy to take anyone on a walking tour.
The problem with the NSMBA has always been a moral one. They have been rewarded for bad behaviour, and lying. The NSMBA's lack of morals has led to one of the worst environmental infractions since our forefathers logged the area a century ago.
We have to wonder what kind of morals are left on District Council as they continue to fund this organization? How long will this Council continue to protect Councilor Bond? He needs to apologize to this community asap! If he waits any longer to do this, then perhaps Bond should show some courtesy and step down from public office.
Councillor Bond should not be afraid of apologizing. Making such a mistake at the age of 26 is an error in judgement and does not attraction sanctions. Trying to cover it up years later through evasive language and hiding behind the Mayor's skirts will not win him either compassion or votes. I have every confidence he will own up to his mistake. I will be the first to thank him for it. At the same time, the cursed shrew Walton must resign. He has no credibility any longer. Heck, no one even voted for him during the last election but he still claims authority as mayor. Will anyone vote for a mayor who refuses to disavow anti-Semitism and refuses to take action to ensure the safety of constituents? We will certainly find out during the next election where these issues are sure to be as attached to him as the proverbial albatross was with the Ancient Mariner.
Does anyone on this board even know how our democratic process works?
It is so challenging to communicate with someone who does not have a classical education. Sigh
Re: Anonymous comment 4:02 pm Councillor Bond is not 26 years old. I'm not exactly sure of his age, but I'm pretty sure he's well int o his 30's.
Anyone go to the NSMBA town hall?
"It is so challenging to communicate with someone who does not have a classical education. Sigh"
Pretentious much? I guess I shouldn't be surprised when you make misogynist comments suggesting Councillor Bond hides behind Richard Walton's skirt, who is according to you a cursed shrew (ill-tempered woman).
Someone how says stuff like that could be called a bully and a misogynist. (added a disconnect for you there)
Not pretentious. That would be Louisa (Shirley MacLaine) in Steel Magnolias. "No one likes me, they are just forced to put up with me because I have more money than God."
Both phrases "cursed shrew" and "hiding behind..skirts" are gender neutral in the modern vernacular. The woman, Kate, in Taming of the Shrew, represents society's "taming" of the environment (pun intended wrt the NSMBA) and farm animals (no pun intended wrt fattened cows occupying council seats - Lisa Muri are you reading this?).
If you don't like what I write or say, take a number, and when its your turn to insult me, I assure you that you will wish the line was instead to get to the prostate exam :-)
Hey 14 out of 14, I'm not intimidated by you. What stuns me the most is that in your history you have defended people who suffered from bullying, why have you changed and become such a mean nasty person who attacks and attacks and attacks? At the end of the day you will be miserable and alone because you abandoned caring about people.
Let's get back to the meat and potatoes of the NSMBA folks.
They do unauthorized/illegal building. They build on trails that are supposed to be closed. They have broken their DNV Trails Maintenance Service Agreement in several areas. The NSMBA's overblown sense of entitlement is at its apex! How many corporations who sponsor the NSMBA know that they are sponsoring some illegal trails? I think they all do, but such is the ugly behaviour that comes out of entitlement.
But in Walton's World (closer to the Griswold's "Wally's World" scenario) a pilot project with the NSMBA never fails. No matter how bad to the bone it gets, he sticks with it. Enter, the NSMBA.
Sociopathy (/soʊsiˈɒpəθi/) is traditionally defined as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior.
Check... Check... Check.
All I know is that sociopathy is a very successful defense to a criminal charge of homicide. What has that to do with this thread about public safety due to anti-Semitic posts on nsmb.com and the failure of DNV Council to disavow such posts, Are you seriously suggesting sociopathy by the NSMBA president from 2009-2013?
I think he's suggesting sociopathy on the part of some of the posters on this blog.
The reference to "bold behavior" suggests otherwise. In the 2014 municipal election, candidate Matthew Bond used the phrase - Be bold, vote bond. Is the implication that sociopaths decided on the present DNV Council?
Is it just me or is this thread mostly just Hazen Colbert and Monica Craver posting back and forth anonymously to make it look like a robust conversation. If you want to know how much money mountain biking brings in to the DNV coffers then why don't you ask Giant Bikes, arc'teryx, Ryder's eyewear, any of the bike shops, or any of the other dozens of companies who located their head offices to North Vancouver (because they want to associate their brand with what North Vancouver is known world wide for) what they paid in municipal tax last year. Ask the hundreds of employees who work for these companies how much money they spend in the community. Ask the thousands of people who have chosen to make the North Shore home because of it how much they pay in taxes (many as you can imagine have professional jobs with good wages so they can afford to make north van home). Mountain biking puts millions in the DNV coffers through these companies and people. The number is actually probably pretty staggering. Hazen Colbert wants tax cuts but his behaviour risks not attracting more companies like arc'teryx and Ryder's (and possibly encouraging some to leave) which is how the DNV might manage this.
Riiibb-it. Riiibb-it.
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