[geargrrl]

The survey is now closed. We had almost 200 responses and tried to get as wide as input as possible from the community through neighborhood groups, city gov't lists as well as recreation groups.

general survey results:
http://tinyurl.com/62jyuk

extracted comments are posted below.


you are invited to join our new yahoogroup
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/fat_tire_spokane


gg

 

[geargrrl]

Initial open-ended comments
• citizens are simply not aware and the trails are very rough
• dirtbikes ruin the experience on beacon , they are loud, fast and rude and they don’t mind running over people on bikes
• Just how much I love the area and don't want it developed more than for biking and dogs...
• out houses, better control on garbage dumping
• My son and his friends love to ride there and BMX, which is great because there are not many dirt trails for them to do that on.
• Chairlift would be really cool
• you do not have all the trails listed
• Thanks for caring about Beacon Hill!
• Block access for autos to dump trash




What improvements could be done to improve the trail experience?

• Make some easier trails and routes
• Expand the No Shoot Zone on the north side to an easily recognizable boundary in the field.
• Benches for resting
• Close the area to illegal dumping
• Create a looped cross-country style trail that encompasses the entire hill
• cut back the brush on the ravine bridge crossing
• Garbage Cans
• ATVs are accessing BH. Difficult to block but needs attention
• New climbing route on east end to avoid steep, eroding road and far east line
• better security at parking areas (like that can happen! )
• More drops and jumps
• Less people
• the trail signage would be great and a little more maintenance but a ton of the riders do a great job taking care of the trails. so im pretty pleased of the area. just wish that it wasn’t going to be developed for housing.
• Be able to shuttle trails
• more public land the city should purchase some of Beacon Hill
• Get rid garbage dumps
• Limit the 'spiderweb' effect of too many trails
• orv's are destroying the trails up there and there realy is now way to keep them off the trails unless it is banned to all motorized uses
• table-top jumps!
• no preference, I really like it the way it is
• chair lift
• work together to clean up garbage
• Preserve trails from or integrate into nearby development
• Prevent garbage dumping - we cleaned this area several years ago and once again it's a mess!
• Have some signs identifying trails leading to specific features, like gravity tree. Simply putting a map with a "you are here" sticker at a few trail intersections would be great.
• Remove trash
• shuttle rode or chairlift
• Is this a horse area? Horses have damaged a lot of the XC trails
• new trail to columbia drive or elsewhere in Northwood to replace the trails being eaten up by the Valley Springs sub-division. (perhaps up the gulley), and connection (via streets) to DNR land
• restrict access road to radio/cell towers, illegal dumping
• Restore poorly designed user-created trails cutting down steep slopes
• Way to many trails and subsequent erosion
• Watering hole at camp sekoni for DH riders
• ALLOW MANMADE FEATURES ON TRAILS
• Properly constructed trails/closure of poor design trails
• H2O sprinklers for the Dirt Jumps!
• Reduce Trash and paintball impact.
• clean up trash and decrease unnecessarily vehicular access. I'm female and run alone generally. I've run into sketchy men in trucks at the top of Esmeralda.
• Don't add stunts to existing trail that only a few can do
• new DH course and proper building of new stunts

What SINGLE improvement would improve the trail experience?
• Close the area to illegal dumping
• Maintenance or stop illegal debris dumpingl
• overall im very very pleased and love riding all over the Beacon Hill. I LOVES IT!!!
• Being able to shuttle the trails
• more public land
• garbage and bums
• I bike the trail weekly and have seen way more orv use this year than any other year.....they don't seem to understand trail etiquette as they never yield to oncoming bikes...they will not stop when you try to talk to them...the area cannot support that kind of use or those kinds of attitudes
• more trails
• clean up garbage by working together
• more downhill trails
• Preservation of existing trails and continued improvements
• Not a good judge as I have not yey used them.
• remove trash
• shuttle or chairlift
• more downhill oriented trails
• Reduce impact from Motor Vehicles, Trash & Paintball
• separate hikers from bikes
• the "other" comment listed above since it has to do with safety, or the feeling of safety
• Lets not make new trails over the existing trails

What type of amenities would enhance the trail experience?
• Lots of dumping in the area - trash removal and ways to prevent dumping
• To keep them open forever
• drinking fountains
• cleanliness
• armoring the trail and the berms
• it perfect the way it is...natural....we don't need to turn it into a national park...it's a rare wilderness experience at the edge of a major city...it should be protected...but never changed
• assurance of continued and future access
• just keep letting us ride there.
• regular clean ups, block cars so they can't dump
• Fine as is
• Combine resources at existing trail heads, e.g. Esmerelda lot for Golf and Biking
• Blocking motorized access thus garbage dumping
• Playground so I can sit with younger kids while older ones ride
• chairlift
• more dirt jumps with water to them
• I actually prefer it to remain as pristine and undeveloped as possible except basic trail maintenance to prevent erosion, etc.
• Safer street crossings from Beacon to Boulder Beach area. Blind corners make cars/bikes hard to see.
• Restrict building of more trails
• Safe parking areas
• it depends on where on the trail you are. the closer to parking areas the more benches, trash cans, lighting, etc. the further away the more "natural" the experience should be.

What SINGLE type of amenity would enhance the trail experience?
• cleaned up
• more durable trails
• leave it alone...nature does not need improving
• assurance of continued and future access
• keep letting us ride there
• Cars blocked so others can't dump
• Fine as is
• Method to keep out motorized vehicles
• Blocking motorized access thus garbage dumping and drug paraphernalia
• chairlift
• Restrict building of more trails
• Safe parking areas
• it depends on type of experience you are shooting for/ where you are on the trails. i suppose my first choice would be sufficient trail access that works for everyone (parking at esmeralda doesn't always make the golf course people happy...)

Open ended final comments/recommendations
• Cement relations with private land owners to prevent being locked out by development
• keep up the great work, this is so exciting!!
• I work on the trails already
• not yet but i hope that we dont loose any trails anytime soon. I hope that the Bicycle Butler can be more involved in helping you guys out. Thanks
• I'm more of a all mountain rider so long loops with some stunts on it I prefer no just DH and XC
• Thanks to current volunteers for all you do for our trails!!
• Land aquisition should be #1 priority or it all becomes housing!
• lets ride!
• to summarize...leave it be..it's great the way it is....get strict on what kind of uses are allowed so there is no trail conflicts between users, no confusion and no trail degredation
• I already do trail work at Riverside and Bluff. Beacon is my 3rd local choice behind Riverside and Bluff/south. I like Beacon as it is..the mix of XC and DH is great. My biggest cocern is the coordination of existing/future trail as the property by the golf course is developed.
• mileage and/or signs would be helpful for pacing
• No, I just love it...Have for years.
• The Spokane Mountaineers clean up mini and the surrounding hills each year, removing lots of trash.
• We must save this amazing chunk of land. It is part of what make Spokane attractive
• It's heartbreaking to see this park and others in Spokane being used as a dump- there needs to not only be clean-ups, but rather, a shift in enforcement of laws, community involvement, etc!
• To make more of Beacon Hill public property
• It's a great park, don't let it become a garbage dump
• Thanks for all the hard work.
• improve "comfort" for hikers and trail runners ie. promote better bike manners
• Thank you!
• shuttle or chairlift
• More attention to Cross Country singletrack trails
• You guys are doing a great thing with this - Keep it up! I think when the County appvd the Valley Springs sub-division, they included a requirement for wildlife access (corridor of some kind) between camp sekani and DNR. We all have to watchdog to make sure it happens. "common area" was shown on preliminary plat maps from the Northeast corner of the camp sekani property extending all the way to where columbia drive passes under the Avista powerlines.
• Keep up the good work
• You are performing a wonderful service to the community
• would help on trail building given plenty of notice ahead of time
• I support your efforts to gain control of this system to help preserve it. Thanks
• Keep up the good work!!!
• the beacon trail network is a good thing, but it needs more input by downhill riders and not just all input from the cross country riders
• Beacon has a wonderful blend of riding, great XC up downs and then the reward of the down hill areas. I don't hit anything over 10 foot so a lot of the stuff is over my head but I still like to watch my buddies hit'em. 15-20 mile loops are great. 1-2 hours of riding. Log rides, ladder bridges, drops, tech climbing and single track it all blends well to me. The only thing I dis-like and feel are out of place for %90 of riders are the jump sections, very few of the doubles and jumps up there are quality builds with good transitions.
• Thanks to the FTTRC for their valued trail improvements. It's got to be tough keeping up at this heavily used area.
• Love the trails
• We need private property cooperation and grant or money source
• this seems like a good idea, collecting the data
• aLLOW STUNTS ON THE TRAILS. KEEP ADVANCED ONESPLEASE, BUT JUST MAKE AN EASY ROUTE AROUND STUNTS.
• Buy great dirt for Dirt Jumps, Install Sprinklers to keep Firm, More STUNTS!!!
• As an XC rider I am concerned that Beacon will be taken over by downhill and freeriders
• I appreciate you taking on this effort. This trail system is one of my favorite places to be in the Spokane area.
• Would like to see more XC races like to old days.
• Beacon Hill has been awesome. Keep up the work.