Two-phase bike park 'not an option'

New information has arisen for City Council to consider regarding the Community Bicycle Park project.

The facility (like the one pictured here) is intended to be a pump track, and the concept was approved by Council in January.

The pump track concept was put forward by a group of local bicycling enthusiasts led by Andre Riopel and Deane Greenwood.

A public input session regarding the facility, to be built at Esposito Park, was held at the Civic Centre in April.

A pump track is not a trail, but a mountain bike course dotted with bumps, jumps and berms in which the rider uses his or her own weight to get through it without continuously pedaling the bicycle.

At its June 24 meeting, Council earmarked $50,000 towards Phase I of the Community Bicycle Park and the annual cost of $8,700 for its inspection and maintenance was put over to Council’s 2014 budget deliberations.

Any amount of funding above $50,000 is up to the Community Bicycle Park user group to raise. 

Originally, Phase I of the Park was to consist of a dirt surface.

The planned Phase II envisioned the facility surfaced with asphalt.

However, according to a report prepared for Council by Commissioner of Community Services Nick Apostle, the City "has been advised that phasing in of the project is not an option." 

Depending on the amount of funding available, City staff will choose between a dirt or asphalt-surfaced park.

A dirt-covered, or "natural" track would cost $50,000.

An asphalt-covered track would cost between $150,000 to $200,000 to construct.

The Ontario Trillium Fund has informed the City it cannot apply for funding for the project, but a "not for profit organization" can.

So far, a not for profit organization has not come on board.

Until such a group comes forward, consultants will be asked by the City to provide two separate prices, one for each type of project, dirt-covered or asphalt-covered.