IMPORTANT meeting affecting Alford Arms trails
J. R. Alford Greenway Citizen Committee Workshop
Thursday, March 6, 2pm – 4pm
Leon County Office of Resource Stewardship (Gathering Room)
1907 S Monroe St, Tallahassee
There is an important meeting regarding possible segregation of equestrian and mountain bike trails at Alford Arms. While everyone involved agrees that separate trails are a positive thing, there will be discussion about how that separation is handled. TMBA has voiced some preferences for keeping all the fun single tracks as bike-only. The STA Board would prefer to split the four existing tracks equally, two for horses, two for bikes. Per Sue Noyes, who was the equestrian consultant on the project, those
trails were originally developed for all users, not specifically bikes. The equestrians have as much right to ride on them as the mtn bikers.
It’s not clear if this meeting will have open public discussion, or if the public can attend but not comment, or if perhaps a spokesperson can sign up to speak for a group. But regardless, attendance by equestrians is important. Wear a horsey shirt or hat!
Side note: there were some user comments on the TMBA public FB page regarding the Ft Braden and Lines Tract trails. For the record, both are managed under the Florida Forest Service. The following information is provided to clarify any comments from the mtn bike community that may imply the equestrians are pushing them out of trail systems.
Ft Braden was originally dedicated as EQUESTRIAN-only under the guidance of Sue Noyes, who worked with Florida Power on the original land purchase by the state, and on developing the trails we still ride today. At some point later, the separate hiking trail system was added. Bikes have never been allowed and state forestry has no plans to allow them in the future. We are not trying to push bikers out because they have never been allowed in the first place. Ft Braden is currently the ONLY “no bikes” equestrian trail in this region.
Lines Tract is still officially listed as multi-use but the mtn bike community ABANDONED use of the tract, and several years ago state forestry INVITED Southern Trailriders to partner with the division to ADD equestrian use to the existing trails. State forestry is in the process of adding improvements to make the trailhead and trail system horse-friendly. We are all looking forward to the official equestrian-use opening announcement.