For Odell Park's future, bikers and preservationists inch toward compromise

What should be allowed at Odell Park dominated the conversation Wednesday night when more than 60 people gathered at a public meeting to consider the future of two Fredericton parks, Odell and Killarney.

Odell has been the subject of some controversy in recent years, partly inspired by the popularity of disc golf and mountain biking, leaving people wondering what the purpose of the park should be. 

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Much of the meeting, led by the Planning Partnership and Trace Planning and Design, looked at  the recreational use of the park now and down the road.

Protecting nature 

One contingent of participants advocated the protection of nature, and a leisurely use of the park.

Milda Markauskas, who lives near Odell Park, said she spends her time walking along trails, trying to spot various birds. 

"Odell is quite a unique area," Markauskas said. "It's a very lovely old growth forest, so there's a lot of trees there."

And some activities, including disc golf, should stay outside the park, she said.

"If you throw things at big trees, and they get hit, and people tramp in there, it compacts the soil," said Markauskas.

"That's not a very good spot for that sort of thing as far as I'm concerned."

The mountain bikers

Markauskas was also concerned about mountain biking in the park, and trails that have been maintained throughout the woods. She said she's seen "major earthwork" going on in the park. 

Dozens of mountain bikers also showed up at the meeting, some of them sporting their biking gear.

Brian Conoley, a cyclist, also manages the Fredericton Trail Runners, a running group within the capital city.

He wants the mountain bike trails to be added into the park plan at Odell. 

"Mountain biking and trail running and these activities are part of a broader active lifestyle, which I think is more important than almost anything else when it comes to [the] health of our population," said Conoley.

"Odell is just so perfectly situated in the middle of the city, in this urban area, to do so and really get people out. "

Doing the right thing

Michael Ormston-Holloway, a consultant with the Planning Partnership hired by the city, listened as people shared their concerns.

As the night went on, Ormston-Holloway said he was getting a better understanding of the problem, or lack thereof. 

"There's potentially more of a perceived problem than there is, in fact ,a problem," said Ormston-Holloway.

In his experience with park planning, he said, reasonable people are able to work things out.

And what he heard at the meeting gave him the impression he was dealing with reasonable people on both sides. 

"Theoretically, shutting down a trail for six weeks of a year that you have a sensitive breeding amphibian, if that's the reasonable thing to do, I think that there's consensus that people want to do the right thing," said Ormston-Holloway.

"At the end of the day I think that we're going to be able to compromise all these desires."

And residents on each side of the issues agreed.

"Maybe some of those trails I loved have to get changed or shortened, but then maybe some of the ones that are already built and well-established and aren't causing any more damage than some other things, can be established and signed and mapped," said Conoley.

The same went for people at the meeting who want to preserve the park. 

"I'm not against mountain biking if it's done on ecological, safe trails, that are not eroding the park, that are properly maintained and properly built," said Markauskas. 

There will be one more public meeting on Odell and Killarney parks on Thursday night at the Willie O'Ree Place. After that, consultants will come up with concepts and options for both parks, drawing from the public meetings and a survey done earlier.