The Derby Park campground is getting a facelift, with a tender put out for new toilets and shower facilities.
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The new blocks will contain five toilets and three coin-operated hot water showers.
Dorset Council general manager Tim Watson said that they were building the showers because visitors had been washing in the Derby River.
“Our visitors were concerned about the environmental impact, especially on the platypus that live in the river,” he said.
Over 30,000 people travel to the Blue Derby mountain bike trails each year, filtering through the town of 173 people. This has affected locals’ ease of using their town, and Mr Watson said the council was taking a number of steps to mitigate the impact of tourism on residents.
Measures includes restricting camping along the riverfront, advertising the camping and recreational vehicle parking near the council depot to take pressure off Derby Park, installing fire pots in Derby Park, and allocating parking for residents in the main street in front of the post office.
However, he said the problems the town is having with tourism are part of the wider success story that is Derby.
“It’s a fantastic problem to have, because the mountain bike project has been an overwhelming success,” said Mr Watson.
“Any regional town in Australia would be overjoyed to have these sorts of problems. However, it is important that we put measures in place to mitigate any negative impact there may be on the people of Derby.”
Council is also trialling a traffic light system on Cascade Road Dam to ease congestion associated with shuttle buses.
The revenue generated from the Derby Park coin-operated showers will go towards maintaining the trails.
“It’s all part of our strategy to have the trails self-sustainable financially,” Mr Watson said.
A builder will be selected in the next four to six weeks, with the facilities due to be completed about November next year. The tender for the facilities closes this Thursday, August 23.