BLACK OAK CONCERNS
Trails, jumps removed
Rumours swirling about their beloved Black Oak Heritage Park had runners, cyclists and nature lovers looking for answers Sunday.
But according to a city official, the natural area has been officially closed to the public since December 2015, despite the fact people are still using it.
“It was closed at that time in relation to work going on with the (Gordie Howe) bridge plaza and access road that are blocked off,” Jan Wilson, the city’s executive director of parks and recreation said Sunday, after close to 100 park users gathered at one of the park entrances at Cherry Blossom and Ironwood drives to show support for their gem.
“Technically the park has been closed since 2015 but it is temporary,” Wilson said. “We just don’t have a date for when it will be reopening to the public.”
Wilson said last week the Port Authority discovered some areas in Ojibway Shores — its property adjacent to Black Oak — where some bike ramps and bridges had been built by mountain bikers. There was also some damage to the habitat in certain areas. The Port Authority contacted city staff and suggested they check out Black Oak since it connects to Ojibway Shores.
“We went out and our naturalist and staff went through Black Oak and discovered some new bike trails that were made without authority, as well as some bridge structures that were built without authority,” Wilson said. “There was also some extensive damage to the area, which is a very sensitive area with species at risk. So that’s of great concern to us.”
Wilson said the structures and trails that were built will be removed in the next couple of days. Fencing will be fixed and reinstalled in areas where it was breached and signage will be put up alerting people to the fact the park is closed.
“That doesn’t mean in the future people can’t use the park,” she said. “When it’s opened we just need them to stay in the right areas because there are spots that are very sensitive.”
In the coming weeks, city staff will be updating people on what’s happening, why the park is closed and the progress towards getting it open again. In the meantime, Wilson encourages people to use the nearby Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park, Ojibway Park and Malden Park.
For years the trails in the 245 acres of Black Oaks and the 32 acres at Ojibiway Shores, owned by the port authority, have been popular spots. Users of the natural areas became worried last when a No Trespassing sign appeared at the entrance to Ojibway Shores along with a concrete barrier blocking access. By Friday morning, a bulldozer was seen in Ojibway Shores levelling some of the trails and bike jumps.
On Saturday, runners using Black Oaks were met by a parks department staffer who told them access to the park was closed and a fence would be erected. By Saturday night, social media was on fire with people looking for answers. The Friends of Black Oaks Heritage Park Facebook group was formed and by Sunday morning it had close to 600 members.
“As you can see cyclists and trail runners are pretty passionate about this area,” said Mark Long, a cyclist and owner of Infinity Cycle. “We are just concerned that the city may look on this negatively and we don’t want that. We want to continue to use the property and we’ve kind of taken it upon ourselves to clean up the property.
“We pick up litter, we maintain the trails and it’s well used with cyclists, runners, dog walkers and many different community members.”
Some feared Black Oaks would be the next victim in the closure of bike trails. Two weeks ago, city council, citing potential lawsuits, voted to demolish an off-road course built secretly by mountain bikers in a wooded area of a city park east of Little River.
Bike Windsor Essex’s Oliver Swainson said the group gathered at Black Oaks on Sunday to seek answers to some of the rumours flying around.
“There’s a lot of hearsay going on in terms of the environmental issues, in terms of trespassing issues, in terms of the police being involved,” he said. “I think a lot of people would just love to know what’s going on.”
Black Oak Heritage Park was acquired by the city in 1989. It used to belong to Windsor Salt, and now is regarded as one of the most biodiverse areas in Canada. It’s home to several different nesting birds including the scarlet tanager, the rose-breasted grosbeak, the eastern bluebird and the Cooper’s hawk. Many of the native plants at Black Oak Heritage Park are extremely rare elsewhere in Canada.