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City planner Scott Laver, left, and bike park designer Jay Hoots examine a trail in Crothers' Woods.Della Rollins for The Globe and Mail

Mountain bikers and BMXers tend to get their kicks under the cover of woods and outside the public eye, but four dozen of them recently filed into a city-organized meeting at Swansea Town Hall to tell professional mountain biker and bike park designer Jay Hoots what they want their new park to look like.

Off-road bikers in the west end have been without a home since May, when the city closed an unofficial High Park biking area called Snake Mound. Toronto's Forestry department recently announced it would not only create a replacement, but would build it according to the community's specifications.

With his dreadlocks tied back tightly to expose a face that has seen lots of sun and perhaps a few wipeouts during a life spent biking, Mr. Hoots summed up the design suggestion that came from small group discussions.

"I'm hearing you want more flow, less sessionability," he said, to general agreement. Translation: the bikers want to keep things modest, with linked elements like jumps and stunts geared for all skill levels, instead of just a few daredevil launch ramps.

Parkdale-High Park councillor Sarah Doucette admitted to being bewildered by the terminology, but expressed strong support for the city adding to its two existing bike parks.

"It means a lot to me, not just as a councillor, but as a parent. These kids aren't inside playing video games, they're outside, challenging themselves and being active," Ms. Doucette said later.

Beyond being healthy recreation, Ms. Doucette sees off-road biking in High Park as a fact of life. "They've been in there for 30 years. If we don't give them somewhere legal to do it, they'll go back to the woods and do it illegally. They won't go away."

Although a final site has not been announced, Forestry Department planner Scott Laver said a clear front runner is what he calls an "underutilized" parking lot in the extreme southeast corner of High Park.

With middle-aged bikers outnumbering youth, design suggestions often tended toward practical things, such as picnic tables, water fountains and an emphasis on proper drainage for rainwater.

Fourteen-year-old Alex Maksymenko countered: "It would make a sick photo opp if we could get a river running through it."

Alex said he and his friends have been finding riding opportunities wherever they are able since losing Snake Mound. He said they often make jumps out of piles of dirt at construction sites.

Alex was sitting at a table with 15-year-old Aidan Crawley, who said he was at the Snake Mound site up to five times a week for the past few years. He welcomed the city's involvement in what was once a discouraged activity. "We want something that won't be torn down," he said, claiming the jumps at Snake Mound were temporarily dismantled twice in the past five years.

Mr. Laver said that the new park will be safe from being torn down, and riders will be able to keep modifying and maintaining the collection of dirt, rocks and logs.

"If we see a flaming hoop jump go up, I do believe we'll take it down, but it is dirt, and we expect it to evolve," Mr. Laver said, adding that shovels will probably be made available for community use with oversight.

Timothy Charles remembers when bikers started bringing contraband shovels to High Park in 1980.

"I was looking for kickers on my CCM Mustang," Mr. Charles, 48, recalled after the meeting. He says the bike was ill-suited to riding dirt, but like all youths, he wanted fun things to do. As the founder of the Toronto Off-Road Bicycling Association, he's still active in promoting knobby-tired biking as a type of recreation the city should embrace.

"The benefit is social interaction for kids who don't gravitate toward team sports," Mr. Charles said. "Individual sports are another outlet for personal development, for building self-confidence and a sense of personal ability."

Mr. Laver and Ms. Doucette both said they hoped shovels will start swinging next spring.

Native group says new proposed High Park bike area next to burial mound

A native group that spurred the closing of a popular but unofficial offroad bike area in High Park by claiming it was on sacred ground say the proposed location for a replacement is unacceptable because it is adjacent to another burial mound.

Although a site has not been announced, Scott Laver, a planner in the city's forestry department, indicates the preferred spot is an underused 40-metre by 30-metre parking lot in the extreme southeast corner of High Park.

Members of the Taiaiako'n Historical Preservation Society and Friends of Snake Mound interrupted what was supposed to be a design planning meeting for the new park on Wednesday night.

Aboriginals occupied the 30-year-old bike park in May, saying it was an ancient burial ground. The city announced it would rehabilitate the area, but only to prevent ecological disruption. A 2009 archaeological assessment commissioned by the city showed no evidence to support the burial ground claim.

The problem with the new site, according to Kim Jackson of Friends of Snake Mound, is that it is adjacent to "Owl Mound," which oral tradition indicates is another of 58 burial or otherwise sacred sites in the 161-hectare High Park.

Rastia'ta'non:ha of the Taiaiako'n Historical Preservation Society told the meeting any replacement site should be outside High Park. His group has filed an official letter of opposition to the city.

Parkdale-High Park councillor Sarah Doucette promised more public meetings before a location is chosen.

Still, signs of goodwill emerged between the bikers and aboriginals before the night was out. Among the suggestions from the biking crowd was for the park's name and some information displays to reflect the area's aboriginal history.

And as the bikers proposed different sorts of jumps, drop-offs, stunts and ramps, the aboriginal contingent suggested the park design include a permanent first aid station and emergency phone.

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