It is a couple of months since the last bulletin on the progress of TRAKS (Trails Association of KL and Selangor), but we have made some good progress during this time.

Bukit Kiara
Considering that the original reason for forming an association was the preservation of the Bukit Kiara trails, we are encouraged by DBKL’s acceptance of TRAKS as an organization they can work with. The chief landscape architect is amenable to the principle of separating bike and horse trails, so we are hopeful that there will be no damage to existing bike trails in the future. TRAKS has also offered to assist DBKL with advice on the best ways of constructing sustainable trails. Pat, Joe, and Ying How in particular have put in a lot of time working with DBKL to establish TRAKS.

Also in Bukit Kiara, we will be organizing a “Clean Up Kiara Day” on Sunday, September 16, to coincide with “Clean Up the World Day”. The main target will be to get rid of all the plastic rubber tappers’ bags that litter the trails. We will be asking for some help from DBKL if possible, but the most important requirement will be lots of volunteers, so watch out for news on that.

Bike Wash at Lembah Kiara
Lembah Kiara is a popular starting and ending point for bikers, and some wash their bikes by the toilet block. This has led some mud accumulating and has attracted a few complaints. DBKL has agreed to let TRAKS manage this problem by building a proper bike wash area. TRAKS will be looking for donations from the biking community to fund this construction.

New Areas
Quite a few potential areas for new trails have been identified, and in each case our objective is to open discussions with the relevant authorities, and get them to consider the benefits of working with TRAKS to develop the trails as an amenity.

Most of these discussion are at a very early stage – too early to mention here – but one example worth mentioning is the significant progress we have made with the management of the Selangor State Park in discussing construction of a trail in Sungai Tua, and we are also discussing the possibility of a trail in the forested area in Kota Damansara.

Association
On the administrative side, the process of registering the association continues to make steady progress.

Website
A website has been developed thanks largely to the efforts of Dr Nick Ong, and we are now working on the content. The website will be launched as soon as the registration is complete. In the meantime, if you have any news, photos, videos, reviews etc that might be relevant to the new web site, please send us your material.

Membership
Remember, TRAKS represents every trail user who wants to see existing trails being preserved, and more trails in the Klang Valley. We need your involvement and support, and as soon as registration is complete we will also be looking to recruit as many members and associates as possible, both to establish our credibility in discussions with the authorities, and to provide us with some internal funding to help us support projects. We will also be looking for external funding for specific projects, as we cannot expect all of the work to be done by volunteers.

Nonetheless we will be needing volunteers in the future, as well as members, so when the time comes, whether you are a cyclist, hasher, or other trail user, please join up and help TRAKS to provide and maintain access to the trails which we all love.