Cyclists will be allowed on beaches within the Belfast Coastal Reserve in a move riders are welcoming as a “win for common sense”.
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Bikes were banned under the management plan released for the reserve in July. It was a decision that blindsided cyclists, who said a ban had not been mentioned in the draft plan, or the following community consultation sessions.
Warrnambool Mountain Bike Club acting president Graeme Wines said users had been lobbying Parks Victoria and politicians for the change.
“Bikes were banned on the beach under the latest version of the act, now we’ve just got communication that bikes are allowed to ride below the high tide line, which is what suits us because we can’t ride in the soft sand anyway,” he said.
“The only proviso we have there is we’re not sure how it’s going to work because the legislation, from what I understand, just has a total ban on the bikes, so I’m not sure if there’s going to be an amendment or how it’s going to be made operational.”
Dr Wines described the original move to ban bikes as defying logic.
“We’re not going in the soft sand, we’re not going into the dunes. Once the tide comes in you can’t even see where we’ve been,” he said of the impact of cycling on beaches.
“(The ban) had never been discussed in any of the forums beforehand, in fact, it seems to have been said that bikes would be allowed.”
Dr Wines said cycling on beaches provided another outlet for riding and was only done by a relatively small number of people.
“When you have hard, smooth sand it’s a great surface to ride on and, obviously, it’s pretty nice views as you ride along,” he said.
Parks Victoria confirmed beach bike riding would be permitted below the high tide line, as well as designated tracks within the reserve.
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