HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/6/2021 Item 4b, Denman
Delgado, Adriana
From:Rick Denman <6dayrick@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, October
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Replacement of Costco adjacent bike jumps
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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 should 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.
Some 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. They were often in
use while I pumped gas at Costco. 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 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. Kids should never be
used in this way.
Sincerely,
1
Rick Denman
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