Dozens of kids — boys and girls, teenagers and pre-teens — filled the presentation room at Barrington Middle School on Monday night, Nov. 2, for the Barrington Town Council meeting. 

The young people had a singular focus: the mountain biking trails and jumps in the woods near Tiffany Pond that were bulldozed by the town last week. 

The young riders, their friends, their parents and others explained to council members how important the jumps were — the friendships made there, the countless hours of work spent building up the area, and the enjoyment the trails and jumps had provided. 

They also criticized the town for destroying the jumps without warning anyone, and called for the town to help rebuild the jumps.

Members of the council listened to the testimony for more than an hour and then voted unanimously to refer the issue to the town manager for more work. The motion called for the manager to discuss the situation with community members, the department of public works, neighborhood abutters, and the police department and fire department.  

Concerns about liability, however, remained through the end of the discussion. Ian Ridlon, a Barrington resident and executive director with the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust — the town’s insurer — explained how Barrington could be sued if someone was injured while using the jumps. He said there is no coverage available to the town for the types of risks presented by the hand-made mountain biking jumps.

Ridlon said he loves that the kids have made a place to go and have fun and hang out, but if Barrington gets sued the taxpayers will be on the hook. 

Ridlon further explained that for the town to obtain insurance for something like the jumps, the town must design the features, the town must build the features, the town must own the features, and the town must maintain the facility. He said it could not be modified by the riders or other people. Ridlon said that in his opinion, the trails and jumps were uninsurable. 

Council members asked questions about insurance. Liana Cassar asked how insuring the jumps would be different than insuring a football field or sidewalks. Ridlon said the sidewalks are built by the town or state and maintained by them — he said the jumps were “the wild west” and the town does not have any control over what happens out there. He said the only control the town has over those jumps was to take them down. 

Councilor Kerry O’Neill said he is a mountain biker and spoke about riding trails, but added that those trails were on private property. He said he wants to get some riding going in Barrington — maybe not the jumps — and wants young people to be involved in the discussion. 

Community comments

A steady stream of young people addressed the council at the microphone on Monday night.

Logan Konz, a Bristol teenager, said he saw five years of his life’s work flattened in one day by the town. He said the trails meant everything to him. He said riders kept the area clean and marked the different trails. Konz said he was hopeful the town could help “fix the mistake they made.”

AJ Aguiar, a Barrington teenager, said he had been riding the trails since Covid and grown more serious about the sport in the last two to three years. He said older riders often mentored younger riders. He said kids using the trails do not disrespect nature in that area. He also said mountain biking is about taking risks safely. Aguiar said he met all his friends while riding and building the trails and jumps.

Cole Cooper made the trip down from North Scituate to speak at the council meeting. He spoke about the trails and the friendships made, and that the kids there are not doing anything bad. 

“These trails were truly a gem,” Cooper said. 

Jackson Pakenham, a Portsmouth teenager, attended the meeting. He said that when he visited the trails recently all his work and his friends’ work was gone. He said the area is now just a sad dirt path. 

Madison Hughes spoke about how other Barrington children had been hurt on playgrounds, but the town did not tear down those playgrounds. She asked why the town closed the trails if they did not close the playgrounds and athletic fields where other injuries occur. Hughes said it took six years to build those jumps… and they were removed so quickly. She told town officials they should bring the jumps back. 

Finley Mattos and Vera Ollila listed the positive things associated with the jumps and asked the town officials to support the trails. Liam Reardon said he started riding the trails when he was in the third grade. He’s in high school now. He said the trails were a big part of his childhood, and last week he saw his childhood plowed down. 

Some of the riders’ parents also spoke during the meeting. They said they were proud of the kids and the work they did. They spoke about how respectful the riders were, how the area was kept clean and how the town needs “third spaces” like the one in the woods near Tiffany Pond. Those areas offer young people a chance to blossom, learn, and explore nature, they said.  

Eliza Lawson lives on a street near the woods. She said it has been a joy to watch the kids build the jumps and trails. She said the kids have been doing this for years, but the town turned a blind eye to it for a long time. Lawson said it was not a problem… until it was a problem, referencing a recent accident at the trails. She said that the kids have proven there is a need for this — they built it and people came. 

Larson Gunness, the coach of the middle school track and cross country teams, said the running course crosses through the biking trails. He said in previous years he has had to holler up to the riders to stop when there were cross country meets taking place, but recently the kids have been great working with him. He asked for officials to keep in mind that the cross country course does intersect with the trails. 

Hudson Schmigle also spoke. He said he was the kid who had crashed at the trails recently. He said he would not have called police and fire for medical help if he knew that it would lead to the trails being taken down. He said the trails were a great place to go with his friends.