Save Springside Park, in Pittsfield, MA, USA, a nature preserve, from becoming a Mountain Bike Park

Within an hour in Springside Park, you can walk through natural woods (50 tree species identified ), old growth forest trees, New England field/forest succession, New England field succession complete with herb and tree pioneer species, a migratory bird ‘funnel,’ wetland complex, vernal pools, springs and seeps from which Springside Park gets its name. Edaphic plant communities, micro-niches and multiple wildlife habitats are home to animals, birds, amphibians and plants seen nowhere else in the city or the region. This nature’s classroom is a top  priority of the City Master Plan for Springside.  The Vincent J. Hebert Arboretum at Springside Park is dedicated to preserving this sanctuary, a vision of the Miller Family who gifted Springside Park to the City of Pittsfield: "...upon the following conditions:- (1) That the City of Pittsfield acquire, add to the described parcel and maintain as a public park forever and (2) shall reasonably improve the granted premises… for the use and the enjoyment of the public as is usual with lands of this character...." Deed 1910. 

“This park could be one of the finest in all New England. At least one park in the park system of a city should have a horticultural interest and this is highly appropriate in Springside Park,” said Vincent Hebert, longtime director of the Pittsfield Parks Department. Mayor Ann Wojtkowski's proposal to name the arboretum and nature preserve The Vincent J. Hebert Arboretum at Springside Park was approved by the City Council on January 9, 1990.

The Mission of The Hebert Arboretum at Springside Park -
The Hebert Arboretum displays a wide diversity of trees and other plants in formal landscapes and larger natural areas for people’s enjoyment, refreshment, inspiration, and better understanding of the living world.
This entire city park offers educational programs, promotes land preservation and environmentally sound gardening and landscape practices, and is compatible with a variety of other community activities.

Unfortunately, there is a threat to all of this... 

Berkshire Mountain Bike Training Series and Races has taken over large sections of Springside Park.

With their proposed industry-funded Bike Skills Complex, which they want to put up in the middle of the park, the real intention is to make Springside Park a destination for mountain bikers from all over the United States.

 ·  Their huge Forest Skills Track encompasses the entire northern area of Springside between Doyle Field and the housing development to the west.

·  Wood chip jumps occupy the main road of the park making it too hard for those who use it to walk or run.

·  Huge jumps have appeared near Garland Avenue and the northern section of the park.

·  All trails are being used by this sport, making it difficult for passive users of the park to walk the trails. Mountain bikes are wearing away paths, leaving ruts, exposing tree roots, and further exposing rocks making navigation risky. There is no trail maintenance to make the damaged trails safe for the public. This sport is taking more land away from public use because it is simply too dangerous to play, stroll, hike, or run on trails that host an aggressive, dangerous, and sometimes violent sport with no supervision. Who can get out of the way fast enough with a mountain bike going at top speed? This 3 minute training video shows the dangers of mountain biking: https://youtu.be/VoTC5zgstUU

·  The presence of mountain bikes leads to increased usage of the park by Thrillcraft: e-bikes, dirt bikes, ATVs and even motorcycles, further damaging  trails and even spilling out into abutting streets.

Environmental consequences of mountain bike use on the entire park is profoundly comprehensive and includes negative impacts to animals, trees, plant populations and fragile, diverse ecosystems culminating in cumulative and chronic biodiversity loss.

Trees have been cut down and left where they lay. New trails have been created and tree roots are exposed and compromised by repeatedly being trampled on by mountain bikes, without regard to the health of trees, plants, and animals along the trails. This has resulted in habitat fragmentation and animal displacement. Damage to the ecosystem threatens rare wildflowers and plants.

The proposed, privately funded New England Mountain Bike Association, NEMBA, for bike industry profit, Mountain Bike Pump Skills Complex, has grown from 1 to 3 acres or more and would have many different constructions including an asphalt pump track, skills course, flow zone, dual slalom racetrack, and picnic area. An additional 1 to 3 acres could include an expanded parking lot, access roads, a fence surrounding the entire complex, and possible ‘hardscaped infra-structure,’ with questions about possible water/sewer lines, toilets or porto johns, and possible lighting, bleacher seating, sound systems, and concessions. 

Their desired location for this Bike Complex is in the middle of Springside Park, behind Reid Middle School, giving mountain bikers easy access from Route 7. Mountain bikers from all over New England and beyond will then invade the entire park discouraging the vast majority of people from visiting the park. People may choose a safer place to take a stroll, hike, run, or to play. Watch this video to see how fast, furious, and dangerous this ‘sport’ is and why it is making our park’s trails unsafe for public use, further privatizing our public treasure: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZeQbBQk0ZZXLlN2EVaHDWfh-54q806ms/view 

There are many other sites that Berkshire Mountain Bike Training Series and the proposed Mountain Bike Pump Skills Complex could use for their sport. There is no need to destroy the untouched for hundreds of years beauty of Springside Park. The mountain biking community already has nine large venues across more than 30,000 acres and over 400 miles of trails throughout Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. Our choice is clear: adventure for a tiny minority or reverence for all. This is the meaning of Springside Park and its gift to us all for generations past, present, and future.
 
Please sign our petition to keep the Mountain Bike Pump Skills Complex and mountain bike racing out of Springside Park. Together we can keep Springside Park natural and safe for all of us to enjoy.

Springside Parks address: 874 North Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201

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  hebertarboretum.com
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  The Vincent J. Hebert Arboretum at Springside Park is a Living Tree Library and Environmental Treasure