Protect and preserve the Preserve, no bicycles please
To the editor:
We are so fortunate to have Matanzas Pass Preserve on our beautiful island to remind us of how this barrier island looked for hundreds of years before our current way of living. What a wonderful place to take a walk, meditate, or even be an active steward with hands and feet in that rich soil.
Recently I have been walking often in the Preserve, and I’m noticing that I see folks visiting and that’s great but often times I’m the only one walking. The trails seem to be have become a sought after path for bicycles. Yes, it is a beautiful trail and yet a better place for those bicycles is the beach (except for Bowditch Point Park, Lynn Hall Memorial Park Crescent Beach Family Park, or the Critical Wildlife Area) or on any of the roadways and sidewalks.
The use of bicycles is prohibited within the Preserve; the reasoning behind the ban on bicycles centers around the following points: safety and protecting the natural experience. When folks are walking quietly they can be startled by an unexpected bicycle in a place where they are not looking for one.
As Terry Cain, Lee County Parks and Recreation Land Stewardship Coordinator comments: “Our goal is to have nature near us and therefore toe rails were installed and not hand rails. This is not safe for bikers and walkers sharing the same place.” That is the story on the boardwalk; but, on the primitive trail there are some blind turns where a walker can be startled when confronted by an unexpected bicycle. Quite simply put, the trails at Matanzas Pass Preserve were not designed to be multi-use paths so that the people that wanted to experience the Preserve at a relaxing pace would be able to do so.
The Preserve offers an opportunity for those of us to live here as well as visitors to experience the mangrove forest and maritime hammocks as a natural experience where the speed of life can slow down. Walking is the way to do that as we are visiting the protected home of our wildlife there.
Please pass the word to everyone you know to get involved with Matanzas Pass Preserve so that you can be part of protecting it. Leave the bikes at the bike rack please, and enjoy your walk.
Dorothy Rodwell
Friends of Matanzas Pass Preserve member