By Josephine Tovey URBAN AFFAIRS
A NEW skirmish is taking place over Sydney's national parks, this time between unlikely foes.
Cyclists are at loggerheads with environmentalists over whether mountain biking should be allowed in the parks. Until recently the sport has been limited to fire trails but now cyclists are seeking deeper access to bushland on dedicated tracks.
It takes dedication... mountain biker Brad Cox of Lane Cove negotiates a track in the Garigal National Park near Seaforth.Credit: James Brickwood
''You've got all this brilliant bushland but you're not able to use it,'' said Rob Rainton, from the Northern Beaches Mountain Biking Group.
But conservationists say mountain bikes have no place in national parks because they cause serious damage to the environment. Ken Higgs from the National Parks Association said bikes formed erosion gullies and destroyed plants.
''They travel fast, accelerate hard, turn sharply, brake hard and skid frequently,'' he wrote in a letter to the NSW Government in July. ''These activities cause significant disturbance to the ground and any nearby vegetation.''
The issue came to a head three months ago when the National Parks and Wildlife Service blocked trails and issued fines to cyclists illegally riding on walking tracks in the Garigal National Park around Middle Harbour.
The NPWS has called a meeting with both groups later this month to try to reach a compromise.
The cyclists, backed by Manly MP Mike Baird, hope dedicated, sustainable cycling tracks can be established in the park.
Bob Conroy, the service's executive director of park management, said he was open to dedicated trails in the Garigal park. A trial was under way in the Royal National Park south of Sydney.
But Judith Bennett of the NPA said national parks were not the place for the sport. ''The primary purpose of a national park is the conservation of the environment; that's the law,'' she said. ''If people can visit the park in ways that don't damage it, that's great, but it's secondary.''
There are dedicated trails in several regional national parks, including Kosciuszko and the Blue Mountains.