Board approves mountain bicyclists’ plan for two gates

After a contentious two-hour meeting, Ponca City’ Park and Recreation Advisory Board voted 6 to 3 to approve a request from the Ponca City Mountain Bike Society to place two locked gates on East Snake Road.

The purpose of the gates is to restrict vehicle access to portions of the road to create a safer area for those fishing, walking, jogging and and cycling on trails the Bike Society has created over the past year.

After a request made at the March meeting to install the gates failed, members of the bike society came back with a modified plan moving the north gate further south.

Work on the trail development started in February 2015 and to date, five miles of trails have been developed. Bike society members say the trails are used often by hikers, runners and bicyclists.

Additional trails are expected to be added in the future, including a three-mile outer loop trail now under development.

Board members and members of the bicycle society spent most of the two hours disagreeing about how to protect users of the trail from traffic on the road, as well as what type of people use the area most.

Voting against the proposal were board members Bill Wentroth, Jeremy Sackett and Al Moore. Voting in favor of the gate proposal were board members Aaron Reynolds, Jason Troutman, Tom Throop, Robin Riley, Kimberlyn Bivins and Wes Young.