Bike Park planning gaining momentum with El Pomar commitment
As you may have heard Transit mix, The owner of the pike view quarry in the north west foothills of Colorado Springs paid for and presented a plan for a world class bike park to be built on the century old scar when decommissioned. Adding to the Bike Park momentum, the El Pomar foundation stepped up to commit $1 million dollars, over 10 years, to the operating expenses of a bike park once built. The El Pomar foundation stated in their press release that “the location suggested by Transit Mix has the added benefit of being a creative solution to reclamation” but the commitment is not location specific.
With recreational and competitive cycling playing such a large role in our community, a full-featured bike park has long been listed as a desired addition. City of Colorado Springs 2014 Park System Master Plan recommends creating amenities that “Accommodate non-traditional/emerging trends that showcase the special characteristics of the Colorado Springs region” and more specifically calls out a Mountain bike park as a recommended addition. The Pike View proposal would fill a gap in our region’s current bike amenities by bringing a world class bike park to the Pikes Peak Region. Bike Colorado Springs sees this as an opportunity to introduce new people to bikes as a fun and healthy way to enjoy their free time.
Our access to outdoor recreation opportunities is one of our region’s most valuable assets. While the Pikeview site is far from a done deal, the site does have many qualities that would make for a great bike park . The Pikeview site is a unique opportunity for a bike park with amount of elevation change it offers and the proximity to the core of our city. While finding a site for a bike park with similar elevation change may be feasible in other areas of our city, the Pikeview plan capitalizes on its proximity to both National Forest land and Blodget Peak Open Space, providing opportunities for connections to other trail networks and park systems. Our city’s proximity to mountainous terrain should be utilized when planning the City bike park as the hope is for it to provide access and opportunities for bike riders of all ages, skill levels, and disciplines.
A bike park will also fills a need that is currently lacking in our community, serving as a controlled environment for children and adults to safely learn mountain bike skills that can then be applied while riding our extensive trail network. The plan for facilities for other bicycling disciplines, that don’t currently exist in our region, like bike polo, cyclocross, dual slalom, and slopestyle, is also exciting as it will allow the new Bike Center to appeal diverse audience. The addition of this level of bicycle facility will be a destination that will attract visitors to our region as well as providing an amenity that residents can take advantage of.