Michael Wurzel (above), executive director of the Southeastern Climbing Coalition, and other climbing enthusiasts are asking Signal Mountain officials to reverse a 1992 ordinance prohibiting the sport inside town limits. Twenty years after a spate of climbing accidents led Signal Mountain officials to prohibit rock climbing in the community, aficionados of the sport are asking that the ban be rescinded.
Twenty years after a spate of climbing accidents led Signal Mountain officials to prohibit rock climbing in the community, aficionados of the sport are asking that the ban be rescinded.
“The town is rightly proud that its residents enjoy extensive opportunities for outdoor recreation,” climbers Britt Reynolds and Michael Worzel said in a letter requesting the change, “yet one of those opportunities is singled out and prohibited. We propose that the town remove (the 1992 ordinance prohibiting rock climbing) from the town statutes, or create a new ordinance that reverses it.”
A similar request was made in 2009, at which time council members voted to continue the prohibition.
Friday, during its regular monthly work session, the council held a lengthy discussion with Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Worzel about possible impacts of lifting the ban.
The two enthusiasts cited a number of reasons in favor of the change, including:
· Rock climbing offers health and economic benefits to the community of Signal Mountain . . . Given the proven mainstream nature of rock climbing, it is now counter-intuitive and misplaced for the town to prohibit the safe and healthy use of this resource.
· Rock climbing is safer than hiking, and rock climbing injuries are rare. Thus, the town’s emergency and safety departments will not be unduly burdened or overextended in responding to climbing injuries or emergencies.
· The town is legally protected from any potential liability of a climbing-related injury by the Tennessee Recreational Use Statute.
· The town’s parks and recreation department will not be unduly burdened by climbing management, or by costs and labor associated with trails and infrastructure . . . The SCC pledges to be a partner in climbing management in Signal Mountain, and can offer considerable resources in the way of funding, volunteers and stewardship. SCC volunteers put in thousands of hours of work each year . . . In addition, trash pickup, tree plantings, invasive species removal, vegetation management . . . and general and/or necessary conservation work are done in relationship with land managers who allow climbing.
Mr. Reynolds, a Signal Mountain resident, said many people either are unaware of or ignore the current ban and go rock climbing inside the town anyway. He chooses not to do that, he added, because he wants to be able to climb – legally – with his children.
Mr. Worzel, who serves as executive director of the Southeastern Climbing Coalition, noted that climbing is one of the fastest growing sports in the nation and counts more than a few Signal Mountain residents among its enthusiasts.
“Many local towns and municipal areas across the country allow rock climbing,” he and Mr. Reynolds noted in their letter. “From Lookout Mountain, Tennessee to Boulder, Colorado . . . climbing is recognized for its health and economic benefits. . . . We hope that you see how the benefits of climbing for residents and visitors significantly outweigh the costs, and we hope you will consider removing the ordinance which bans rock climbing in this great town.”