I wonder if the people at the OFSC office who deal with the MTO ever used this history to make the case for a price increase? Yes, Dougie gave us some money this time but if you calculate the real costs of closing all those trails down and then opening them back up and the effect that it has had on the volunteers involved, wouldn't it have been prudent to approve the frigging $7.00 requested increase.

Apparently there is sign saying Piper Arms is in fact coming to Crossroads, I didn't see the sign yet but its what I've been told 

The reasoning for the powers that be are understandable, they don't make economic sense, but they're understandable.   Reality is, we live in TODAY, and the NOW.  The system can't run on that cheap of a permit any longer.   In order to KEEP it reasonable, we know from those involved that continued volunteer resources are desperately needed as one part of the overall, and that's on all of us to do what we can to do our part.   In the meantime, we need the MTO to get out of the way a little bit and let the pricing come into reality with where things are at TODAY. 

curious, do you know what the weight difference in the two tracks are (approx)?

But somehow there are many folks in the clubs that apparently feel as though it has not been needed or it is too much, finding ways to keep it as low as possible, yet we all know it is the cheapest part of the sport....well, maybe the val tag is and the permit is the second lowest....lol   so in 10 years, from $260 to $294.....a whooping 13% increase or 1.3% per year!