The Rotary Club of Olds has been working with town administration to identify space for a local bike skills park, and has now proposed a location adjacent to O.R. Hedges Park, currently owned by the town and designated as urban reserve land.
The proposed facility differs significantly from the town's current skate park, with more natural features that riders might encounter while mountain biking, such as dirt rolls, jumps, logs, rocks and bridges.
Paul Gustafson spoke on behalf of the Rotary Club during the June 19 Policies and Priorities meeting, formally presenting the proposed location to council.
ìThis spot makes sense for it, just because it is close (to the skate park) and central,î he said.
Gustafson said that, until now, it's been hard to estimate how much a bike skills park would cost, because it depends significantly on where it would be built.
ìNow that we have a location we can start talking about what this looks like,î he said. ìIf the town is open to us using this space, we would be able to go and find somebody to help draw out what our park might look like.î
Once they have detailed drawings, they can budget for the project. For comparison, a similar-style bike park in Canmore cost $25,000, according to Gustafson.
The Rotary Club would raise the capital for the initial building costs, while the town would assume responsibility for future maintenance, said chief operating officer Doug Wagstaff.
The council voted unanimously to receive the proposal for information. Wagstaff said that the next step is for the Rotary Club to work jointly with the administration to refine a proposal and present it to council. He expects that to happen this fall or early next year.
Wagstaff said that potential long-term planning could factor in the ability to use the proposed space ñ there has been previous discussion about using this lot for a new civic centre at some point. He said, however, that is 10 to 15 years down the road, and as Gustafson noted in his presentation to council, the facility amounts to ìpiles of dirt,î which could be moved in the future.
Gustafson said they also plan to offer opportunities for community engagement, to make sure this is something local residents want. Anecdotally, he says people he has spoken with have been excited about the prospect.
ìEvery kid owns a bike ñ it's one of those things that we can make easily accessible,î said Gustafson. ì(It's) just one of those neat, easy ideas that we can implement."
"Every kid owns a bike ñ it's one of those things that we can make easily accessible."PAUL GUSTAFSONBIKE PARK PROPONENT
