Holly Park in Ladner will soon have a new bike park that will welcome riders of all ages and experience levels.... http://www.southdeltaleader.com/community/214301211.html
Delta council approved a $15,000 budget to the parks and recreation department to build a bike pump track in a vacant lot in Holly Park west of the soccer field by Ladner Trunk Road.
A pump track is a manmade closed circuit made up of berms (mounds) shaped from earth. A rider uses momentum to “pump” speed into the bike and then rolls through the course with minimal pedaling. Using the same physical principles as a swing, the rider pulls up on the bike as he or she crests a roller and then pushes back once past it to continue on.
Brett Armstrong of the Watershed Bike Club, responsible for the creation and maintenance of mountain bike trails within Watershed Park in North Delta, said it will be a multi-use bike park where children and adults alike can ride without fear of traffic.
“I’ve been talking with Delta about this parcel of land for at least five to eight years but it’s just finally come to fruition for everybody,” he said, adding things are still early in the planning phase.
Armstrong said cycling is a growing recreational activity for many families, since it’s largely free after the initial investment.
“It’s a great way to get exercise, push yourself physically, from many different aspects, whether it’s conquering a new section of trail or climbing over the top of that hill that you never thought you’d make it up and over,” he said.
The pump track will have sections of various difficulty levels allowing riders of all skill levels to have fun, explained Armstrong. He believes the course they design will appeal to all kinds of riders, from BMX cruisers to mountain bikers and everything in between.
Some of the $15,000 will go toward numerous infrastructure projects in Holly Park prior to construction. These include drainage work, asphalt trails leading to the park, and a water source, which will be needed to keep the soil moist in the summer.
Delta will also purchase a factory-made curved wall ride for $8,000. Preliminary drawings show a wall ride, a roller snake line, a teeter totter, a beginner and kids pump track and a long pump track, though Armstrong said these could be subject to change.
As well, the course will be set 25 metres from the subdivision to the west and about the same distance from Ladner Trunk to ensure safety and noise concerns are properly addressed.
When ready, Delta will transport and drop the dirt and then Armstrong said his club will sculpt the dirt by hand.
“You can’t do all this work just with the machine,” he said. “You need to be on top of it with a shovel. It’s going to take a lot of work to do.”
Meanwhile, another member of the Watershed Bike Club wants to get a pump track installed in Tsawwassen in a BC Hydro right-of-way at Pebble Hill Park. Eric Wong, a graduate of the Capilano University Mountain Bike Operations Program, approached Delta about the idea earlier in the year.
Currently there’s a small dirt jump park at Pebble Hill but Delta staff are concerned about the unsafe nature of the apparatus which has been set up by youth mainly on an ad hoc basis.
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