PHOTOS: Toti Cycle Club closes mountain-bike trails
The club has made the decision to close the trails following the theft, sewage outfalls and illegal dumping that continues to plague the area.
ONGOING vandalism, theft, sewage outfall and illegal dumping has led to the closure of the mountain-bike trails at the Amanzimtoti Sports Centre.
Amanzimtoti Cycle Club chairperson Barry Walker, who started the project 10 years ago, said it is with great anguish and sorrow that he and the committee have made this decision.
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“It has been a lot of hard work to maintain the trails. However, a number of situations have led us to this discussion,” he said.
Walker said the main reason has been the theft and vandalism of the wooden bridges along the trails. “With the high rate of unemployment in the country, people are stripping our bridges to build homes and shacks. The only way around this is to build a permanent structure. However, we cannot do this as it’s municipal property,” he said.
Walker said the other issues the trails face are sewage, floods and endless litter in Ilanda Wilds, the nature reserve situated along the Amanzimtoti River which the trails run through.
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“We report the sewage outfall, it gets sorted out, and it just happens again. I eventually installed a pipe to divert the sewage, instead of it running across the trails where people and families cycle and walk. On top of that, every few years, our track gets damaged by the floods.”
Walker said this decision has not been an easy one. “Our club has poured a lot of time and money into this track. All of this is costing our club a lot each month, and it seems we are just throwing money at it and not getting anything in return. I feel very sad that it has come to this,” he said.
Walker said he started his pet project for club members to have a place to practise, as well as for families and children to enjoy. “I loved undertaking this project; I got so much joy out of seeing others enjoy our one and only track in the area. I feel very sad that it has come to this. But it was like fighting a losing battle,” he said.
Walker reminds the community that neither he nor the club can be held responsible for anyone using the trails from this time forward.
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