The text of the law, which is now being consulted on, contains the following article: "Riding and cycling in the forest away from forest roads and specially designated paths and slopes is prohibited." Previously, only cycling off paths was prohibited. Article 46 of the proposed law doubles this: "A fine of up to CHF 20,000 shall be imposed on anyone who intentionally rides a horse or bicycle off forest roads and specially designated paths and tracks."

The consultation paper provides the justification for the stricter penalties: bicycles often leave permanent damage on non-solid paths, especially in wet and damp weather. In addition, the potential for conflict between cyclists and other forest visitors is constantly increasing. These two aspects are enough for the canton of Bern to ban mountain bikers from single trails by law. In an attempt to justify themselves, the authors of the paper add that these changes would only have a selective impact on those affected because there is a large network of forest roads and designated trails.

The cantonal authorities have not taken into account the fact that mountain biking is now one of the most important leisure activities for the Swiss and that, according to many studies, there is a need for single trails. It remains unclear on what the authors base their statement that the potential for conflict is increasing. If the bill goes through, mountain bike tourism in the Bernese Oberland and the Bernese Jura would effectively be dead.Resistance is now mounting against the amendment to the Forest Act. Under the leadership of Trailnet, the amendment to Article 22 is not to be included in the final text of the law. The ideal way to join the protest against this amendment is to contact the Trailnet association, which competently represents mountain bikers in this matter. The association has announced a major information campaign for Tuesday, January 17, which will be extensively reproduced on Ride.ch.www.trailnet.ch

Link to the official documents of the law change:
www.be.ch

The consultation procedure lasts until March 2, submissions should be sent to the following address:
Department of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Bern
Legal Department
Münsterplatz 3a
3011 Bern
consultation@vol.be.ch