Instead, it will focus on developing its tracks at Herbert, south of Oamaru, a decision its president, Marcus Brown, said was made by the club’s committee after discussions with others who used the cape, which is also a popular spot for walkers.
At a public forum before an extraordinary meeting of the Waitaki District Council on September 24, Katrina Hazelhurst, who unsuccessfully stood for mayor in this year’s local elections, told the council she had repeatedly asked for a collaborative approach to track development at the cape, which had not happened, and had led to run-ins between bikers and walkers.
Her concerns also included safety issues, soil erosion and the alleged removal of native plants when tracks were widened.
Mr Brown insisted "no other factors" were considered when the committee made its decision, and said there had been no clashes between walkers and mountain bikers recently.
"I think everyone’s behaving very responsibly . . . . but there’s an awful lot more mountain bikers than members of the club.’’
He asked club members to be "courteous to other users".
Track maintenance would continue but no new work would happen until "next winter, post public consultation", he said.
"Basically, we took the view that for the time being we didn’t want to do any more work. We had some discussions with walkers independently and we are conscious that it’s important the community is a little more involved with what takes place on the cape."
Mrs Hazelhurst was not aware of the decision so could not comment directly, but said she was scheduled to meet council parks and reserve staff on Friday to discuss activity at the cape.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher supported the decision.
"It’s certainly good to take a breather to make sure whatever happens from here is being done on a way so that it doesn’t impact on other users. There is a management plan [for the cape] but I want us to look at the future of all of the land up there."
He wanted to see mountain biking "evolve and thrive" at the cape, but not at the expense of other users.
