Lafayette Bike Park

-Excerpts from City of Lafayette Staff Report 12/8/08.

Bike Park Introduction

BMX and mountain bike jumping have been steadily growing over the past ten years; so much so that BMX was featured in the 2008 Olympic Games (mountain biking debuted in 2004). Much like the current trend of skate parks across the country, the demand for bike jump parks is on the rise. Many cities have or are building parks of their own. For years riders have been building unauthorized jumps in the Lafayette Community Park. As the popularity of the sport grew, so did the size and number of the jumps local riders would build. The jumps grew to the point that, in order to expand their jump site, riders began building closer and closer to the Las Trampas Creek bed causing damage to trees and creek banks. Parks maintenance staff repeatedly removed these sites within the park, frustrating the bike jumpers and resulting in new bike jump been built in other undesireable locations. The nearest bike jump park is run by the City of Pleasanton. This park was built when the City was faced with a situation similar to Lafayette’s, and found that giving the riders a designated place to enjoy their sport was the best solution. (Click to view before and after photos of constructed and deconstructed unsanctioned riding areas in Lafayette.)

Recreation Program Coordinator Jonathan Katayanagi began a dialog with a number of the local riders, builders and bike shops in the area in an effort to find a solution. The result was the formation of the Lafayette Bike Jump User Group. This group has been meeting and doing extensive research on other city bike parks in hopes of adding a bike jump park to the Lafayette Community Park. They studied existing bike parks in Aptos, San Jose, Pleasanton, Fresno, and Folsom.

A comprehensive report was presented to the Lafayette Parks Subcommittee and then the entire Parks, Trails and Recreation (PTR) Commission. After questions and discussion, the Commission was in full support of moving forward with a Bike Park project in the Lafayette Community Park at the identified site.

Bike Park Site

First began the process of identifying a suitable location for the development of a bike park facility that would; be accessible to local riders in the community, provide enough space and suitable terrain to create a high quality park riding experience, ensure minimal environmental impact during construction, maintenance and the long term operation of the facility. City Staff, the Park Trails and Recreation Commission and knowledgeable BMX participants identified approximately one acre in Lafayette Community Park for a bike jump facility. The site is in the south end of Lafayette Community Park, which is designated for active recreational use. The site is essentially clear of the riparian zone and well below the ridgeline. Existing amenities such as restrooms, drinking fountains, trash and recycling cans, in addition to access to regional biking (Paved Path) trails, parking and bus stop make the site a very suitable location. The current fireroad borders the proposed site providing easy access for construction and grading equipment and emergency vehicles. There is currently a water line that runs to the batting cages; close enough to provide water at the base of the site for bike jump construction and ongoing maintenance.

Bike Park Design Process

The second step of the project was to find a designer and have a design made.  The design would dictate what types of features would go in the areas of the park, what areas are dedicated to beginner, intermediate and advanced level features, as well as the flow of the park as riders go from feature to feature.  The designer would also help us determine whether the site would provide sufficient dirt once graded to build jumps and determine if the dirt onsite provides a mix of clay and sand suitable for building jumps.  If dirt needs to be brought in we would locate spoils with a mix that works.  After the design is made it would be submitted to Planning and an Environmental Impact Study will be performed if deemed necessary.  The site would then be fenced in (4ft. high) to provide an area to build jumps as specified in the design.  A grading contractor would be hired to do the rough grading of the site and volunteers would be trained by the designer to do the final shaping of the jumps. Signage would include the park rules signs and skill level / feature signs (informative for riders and guidelines for builders).  After the fencing and signage are up we would open the site up to volunteers to perform maintenance under guidelines set forth by the designer and city staff.  Equipment including hoses and shovels could be stored in a knack box and the key to the box could be checked out at the Community Center office where volunteers would read and sign an alteration agreement.  Once a variety of the features are in place the park could have a grand opening. 

 

FUTURE OPTIONS

 -Additional water spigots could be placed around the site to make maintenance easier.

 -Add mountain bike features to the park. These features could be similar to the features found in the Fresno and Folsom parks.

-Have a professional contractor come in and remake the park to the design plans

Bike Park Community Design Development

The vision for the Lafayette Bike Park was developed through a series of Community Design Development public stakeholder meetings. These meetings provided an opportunity for local riders, builders, and other members of the community to provide their input on the style, aesthetic quality, flow, progression, and specific riding features and experiences, that they hope to be able to ride at the bike park. The first Stakeholder Meeting will be held Friday March 6, 2009 at the Lafayette Community Center and the second was held on March 13, 2009. For more information, directions, times and locations of stakeholder meetings, click here. To sign up on the Lafayette Bike Park email list to receive the latest updates on events, click here.

Bike Park Design Firm

After visiting and talking to the cities who have built their own bike parks, an experienced design firm was discovered: Hilride Progression Development Group. This experienced firm puts a lot of emphasis on skill progression parks. Their designs offer a variety of features for different bike riding interests and abilities, including jumps, tracks, elevated trails, log rides and appropriate signage. Their services also include website design and volunteer coordination. Hilride also provides project management services. The user group preferred to use Hilride because of their experience with other bike parks.