With the formation of mountain bike trails at Mill Pond Forest in Marshall County comes a potential liability factor.
Volunteers Jeff Houin and Brandon Calhoun have recently cleared up to three miles of mountain bike trails at the Mill Pond Forest off of Rose Road.
Insurance consultant Mike Miley forwarded some information to the county’s insurance carrier and informed the Marshall County Commissioners Monday morning that mountain biking is considered an extreme sport.
Miley said, “Fortunately, the legislature passed some extreme sports limits on liability and that’s what’s detailed in the Bliss McKnight piece here. They also have some wording for signage that I think we need to follow and they want those signs placed at each entrance of that trail.”
The wording on the signs will be consistent with what the insurance carrier recommends including a contact phone number in case of an incident.
Miley does not believe that any insurance liability premiums will increase due to the formation of the trails.
Any users under the age of 16 will need to be accompanied by an adult.
Additionally, volunteers will need to maintain the trail to free the area of any hazards.
The five-year plan developed by MACOG, the Marshall County Parks and Recreation Department Board and committee members will be shared with county’s insurance carrier just so consultants will be aware of all project plans in case there is a need of additional coverage.
