Rexy to the rescue!
ok heres a copy of the letter i sent to them (this is based on one posted on farkin, thatnk to who posted it up)
To Rockingham City Council,
My name is Rex Dubois, and I am 13 years old, and am an avid Mountain Biker and BMX rider, like many others in the Baldivis/Settlers Hills area. I am writing to you today to propose the building of a youth recreational facility, specifically a BMX track, or a Mountain Bike Park in the Baldivis/Settlers Hills area. At the moment, to practice this sport, which I do 4 days a week during the school term, and often every day of the holidays, I have to travel a huge, unrideable distance. Most BMX tracks are inaccessible to the general public and are not within riding distance of Baldivis, the closest accessible track to my knowledge been the Serpentine bmx track. Jarrahdale, Dwellingup and Mundaring are the only places to mountain bike. These are the three closest suitable places to ride, and with Jarrahdale out in the hills, Dwellingup a 45 minute car trip, and Mundaring a 1 hr plus journey, you begin to see the problem. It is extremely time consuming to travel to any of these places.
Hence, and you may or may not be aware of this, myself and several others have taken it upon ourselves to build our own facilities, at various places in and around the area, which have subsequently been destroyed. Many hours have been spent in the creation and destruction of these tracks. The tracks that have been built were Dirt Jump trails. We do not mean to offer any inconvenience to the local council; we just want to enjoy riding our bicycles on a suitable track, just like footballers like to play football on an oval.
At the moment, Mountain Bike Riding and BMX riding is becoming an increasingly popular sport in Perth, and Australia in general. Currently, against the world, Australia is at the top of Mountain Biking in the areas of Freeride and Downhill. I myself see more and more people my age riding at the trails I ride, often meeting new people whilst building trails. Among the huge number of people, both young and old, I am yet to find a single person who has acted with the slightest bit of hostility to myself or any other fellow rider. This friendliness does not only appear among riders who always say hello when we meet out riding, but with the general public as well. I have often been riding or building and people will stop to have a look, or talk to us for a while.
Many local councils build skate parks, but I consider a skate park not the best choice for our local area, as we are semi rural most children do not own bicycles suitable for street styled riding, which is what a skate park offers. Also skate parks are only for more experienced riders and for less skilled riders they are not much fun and a potential threat to their health. A BMX track, if suitably designed can be fun for everyone from very skilled riders to younger riders
What I am asking for is a BMX track, or a Mountain Bike Park, that would be built in the Baldivis/Settlers hills area suitable for riders to stop them having to make the journeys to other tracks, and also to get kids off the couch, or the Xbox, or the computer, or the TV, and get out and do something active. I have noticed many kids in Settlers Hills with very little to do, so they vandalize public property and are generally a nuisance. I know a fair amount on the subject of mountain bike and BMX tracks and would be able to assist in planning and construction of a track. If a track is a financial strain a block of land could be supplied, with the help of a few days bobcat hire paid by the council a track could be constructed with the help of local riders.
I myself have only just got back from a trip to Dwellingup with a number of fellow riders, some of which traveled for over one and a half hours. With a local track mountain bikers like these would also be attracted to the area for riding and the council would become well known and respected among these mountain bikers for helping to give us a place to enjoy our sport of choice. The amount of Mountain biking in Perth is tremendous, and still growing, which is shown through over 4000 members, 14 of whom today joined an Australian Mountain Biking website, that has been running for 14 months (24/05/04). Some other useful Australian Mountain biking sites include:
www,cycling.org.au
www.wafr.tk
I would greatly appreciate a reply and further discussion on this issue.
Yours Sincerely
Rex Dubois
basically i sent this, then a few weeks later followed up with a phone call to the council. I talked mainly to the youth services officer, he was really helpful and sent me in the direction of local developers.I rang a few and got a negative answer, but kept trying and eventually got in contact with the Settlers Hills (local estate) residents association, and encouraged them to discuss the possibility of a track at their meeting. They decided it was a good idea and sent me looking for a location, the goverment already have a budget and are willing to spend it on a BMX track, they are even considering making it a club with a clubhouse. A petition is a very good idea, try making 2, one of riders and one of local residents who wouldnt mine one. Try also going down to the council and meeting with them (they love powerpoint presentations).Basically, ring everyone, local youth services, developers, council, be polite and dont get angry even if they are been an asshole to you.
ill post more tommorow, im off to bed now its one oclock i think....
even if they say stuff keep going, when they start yelling simply hang up.
