Investments in community cycling fuel local economic development, and civic pride.
By Kaya Williams
A bike skills park in Castle Rock started with a middle schooler’s request, then flourished with the help of a seasoned mountain biker. Another track in North Bend grew out of a DIY project built by local riders. And in the tiny town of Wilkeson, local kids helped advocate for a park for skateboards, bikes, and scooters. If there’s one thing that ties these community assets together, it’s how leaders listened to and involved local riders.
Community buy-in at North Bend
On a pump track, bikers don’t have to pedal: They can just pump their arms and maneuver their handlebars to get enough momentum. Some riders had already built some of their own features, including berms, undulating bumps, and jumps, in North Bend’s Torguson Park—a “scrappy, in-the-backyard type of thing”—when the city got involved, says Mike McCarty, planning manager for the city’s Community and Economic Development department.
The idea for something more substantial came from those riders, too, McCarty says. “Can we make this into a formal facility, build it up, and make it a community pride thing?” The result: A 35,000-square-foot park for beginners to advanced riders. A partnership with the Si View Metropolitan Park District and a grant from King County helped North Bend make the vision a reality, and those same riders who contributed to the design process now donate their time and labor to maintain features.
Getting the youth on board
The skate park in Wilkeson is one of the few places where local youth can hang out without needing a ride in a car. The park is fair game for just about anything self-powered with wheels, including bikes, scooters, and skateboards, and it’s known for its giant “bacon and eggs” feature, designed by artist John Hillding and the company Grindline Skateparks to look just like a breakfast skillet. It’s become something of a visitor attraction as well as a local haunt, says town clerk Marie Wellock.
Community contributions—from financial donations to volunteer labor—plus support from Grindline and a state grant made the project possible, according to Wellock. She attributes much of that success to the most frequent users of the park: the kids themselves. “If you can get the youth on board with it, they won’t let their parents forget that they want this to happen,” Wellock says.
It takes a champion
Thousands of volunteer hours helped build the Castle Rock Bike Skills Park on four acres of city property near the Cowlitz River. It began as a BMX spot, then evolved into a pump track with many other features, thanks in large part to the ideas and contributions of avid local biker Jim LeMonds and his fellow riders.
“It takes a champion” like LeMonds to bring a project to fruition, says David Vorse, the city’s public works director. It also helps when city leaders see the bigger-picture benefits, like how quality of life improvements can support the economic sustainability of a community.
This bike park, and the way it came to be, is a part of that philosophy. “When you have people that will give back to their community,” he says, “everybody feels very, very proud of what gets done.”
For more information: northbendwa.gov; townofwilkeson. com; ci.castle-rock.wa.us