HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/6/2021 Item 4b, Edwards
From:Tim Edwards <tde1973@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, October
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Bicycle Pump track / Jump Park
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Dear Parks & Rec Commission,
Please accelerate the development of city provided dirt jump parks and a pump track to replace the
recent destruction of the Costco Jumps. This new, or addition to a city park must be in an area that is
centrally located, easily accessible by kids via bike, and along designated safe cycling routes already
in use to travel between schools and across town. The acceptable locations include Laguna Lake
Park & near Sinsheimer Park along the Railroad Safety trail.
The dirt jumps at Costco, while unauthorized, became a valued community resource over their
decade-plus existence. Jumps like these promote a healthy lifestyle for riders of all ages and
abilities, build skills, teach responsibility with their use & maintenance, and promote community bonds
via easy equitable access. There are many cities with jump parks that SLO can use as a guide. Just
to name a few: Truckee Bike Park, Sedona Bike Skills Park, Bijou at South Lake Tahoe, Snakes
Hollow in St. George Ut, Valmont in Boulder CO. All are incredible and offer a range of beginner,
intermediate, and expert features accessible and challenging to all abilities.
As previously stated, location and ease of access is key. Laguna and near Sinsheimer would promote
healthy lifestyle choices as well as be the most environmentally acceptable locations. A bike park
should be located where kids and adults are already riding and not require a drive by car. Sedona &
St George’s bike parks are located directly adjacent to their middle schools and thus receive massive
use. Costco jumps were there for all to see and thus also received steady & continuous use. For this
reason, the suggestion to put a facility out by the sewer treatment plant should be a non-starter.
There is no safe way for a kid to ride their bike to that part of town and the fact that a car ride is
required to use a bike skills facility should give us all pause as we work towards our 2030 climate
action goals. Additionally, putting a bike facility, whose primary users will be children, near the sewer
treatment plant as a homeless encampment deterrent is in poor taste and poorly thought out.
Bike parks have been used by other cities as a draw for tourism. I myself have travelled to Valmont
and Sedona specifically to ride those parks. Putting them in an undesirable location would not work
in our favor bringing in riders from other areas but rather act as a point for ridicule.
Sincerely,
--
Tim Edwards
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