Manville levels trails made for bike riders

Riders say borough broke promise.

By:Alec Moore
   A Branchburg man who spearheaded efforts to save Manville’s BMX dirt bike trails says he was deceived by Mayor Angelo Corradino, but the mayor says the ramps and obstacles were too unsafe to stay.
   Twenty-one-year-old Ryan Collins, who in late 2001 led a group of local youths protesting the borough’s plans to do away with the trails at Memorial Park, says he had received assurances from Mayor Corradino that the trails would not be plowed.
   Last week, however, Mr. Collins said was shocked to see that the main portions of the trails — which included a number of dirt ramps and other obstacles — had been leveled.
   "I just went down there to do some work (on the trails), that’s when I saw that they had been plowed," said Mr. Collins. "The mayor promised he would do something for us, but he just turned his back on us," he continued. "He said he wanted us to have the trails inspected and we did, he said he wanted us to form a club, and we did, but I think he was hoping that we would just forget to do all that."
   Mayor Corradino said the decision was made to plow the trails because of safety and liability concerns posed by potential hazards on the trails. He emphasized, however, that the borough is still in the process of looking for an area in town where the borough’s Recreation Department can build a BMX and skate park for the extreme sports enthusiasts.
   "We still want to provide a place for the kids to ride, but not in that location," Mayor Corradino said. "I can’t have them riding somewhere where they can get hurt. One thing I don’t want on my conscience is a kid getting a tree branch stuck in his chest."
   The mayor noted that finding suitable space for the BMX riders all comes down to a matter of finding suitable space to accommodate the group. "We need space," he said.
   In November of 2001, the borough was prepared to have the BMX trails demolished, until Mr. Collins and a contingent of other local BMX riders from Manville, Hillsborough and other neighboring communities appealed to the council not to destroy the trails they say they had spent seven years creating on borough property.
   After much discussion and debate, the council charged the borough’s Recreation Department with the task of looking into extreme sports parks — similar to ones in Somerville and Hillsborough — in November, 2001.
   The park, estimated to cost $4,000, would include ramps for use by BMX bicyclists, skateboarders and in-line skaters. The department has not made any recommendations as of yet.