Proposed BMX bike track could be on right track
Published 4:14 pm Thursday, April 30, 2009
By Teresa Herriman, The Courier-Herald
The city of Bonney Lake is proposing to join forces with the Washington State University Demonstration Forest to build a BMX bike track. The proposal still must receive approval from the university, but everyone fromWSU Challenge Program & Demonstration Forest Program Director Brian Brandt to city and county officials are enthusiastic. City Council Member Phil DeLeo is actively pursuing the idea and Pierce County Councilman Shawn Bunney has committed $5,000 of county money to the project.
Bonney Lake Mayor Bob Young said the plan for the bike course fits with the city's strategic park plan currently under development by the Parks Board. According to Young, the revitalized board has already included the bike track in its comprehensive plan for the development of more city parks. "I am very much in favor of it," Young said. "It's a good thing for the kids."
Only non-motorized dirt bikes would be allowed on the proposed track. It would be fenced and open during daylight hours. Brandt said a potential site is a wide-open area directly behind the Safeway store at state Route 410 and 234th. The site would be visible for safety and easily accessible.
The idea for the track came, in part, from the clashes between skaters and bikers at the new Bonney Lake skate park. Since it opened, the city has installed a labyrinth gate and posted signs to keep bikers from damaging the cement surface of the park, but the lure of the curves is too much for some extreme bike riders, who still manage to sneak in.
The effort is also based on a continued concern that WSU may consider returning the Demonstration Forest to Weyerhaeuser Inc., who originally gifted the property to be used for youth education purposes. "Our feeling was, and is, that the more used and popular this land is, the more difficult it would be for WSU to justify a sale," DeLeo said.
To meet the educational requirements of the Demonstration Forest, Brandt suggests that riders take a short course on forestry or horticulture. Those who pass the course would receive a ìgreen cardî giving them free access to the track for a year.
Brandt feels strongly that the 4-H component of the forest would also be served by enlisting the community, especially young dirt bike riders, to design, develop and maintain the track. A youth committee similar to the one organized to create the skate park has the full backing of Mayor Young and Councilman DeLeo. "The youth need to be very much involved," Young said.
If the city could fund the establishment of a youth committee, Brandt offered the use of the challenge course to help develop effective adult/youth partnerships. "We've got the education part down," he said. Brandt feels that the creation of a bike track is an opportunity to teach kids about the value of service to the community. The community ownership and pride learned by the volunteer can lead to future service learning, he stated. "They learn to ask themselves 'What are you going to do for your community?í'" Brandt is also working with the Pierce County 4-H staff to form a 4-H Bike Club.
DeLeo estimates the costs to begin the process would be limited to "publication of committee meeting flyers, perhaps some professional services to help design and layout the track and some expense to haul away cleared brush. We might, at some point, need a professional for wetland mitigation, if we should run into wet areas within that track course."
Other potential activities discussed for the forest include a dog park for use by 4-H Dog Clubs to train dogs and teach respect for animals; a three-mile nature trail that could also be used for cross-country track meets; and an outdoor theater for plays and concerts.
The next step is to get approval from WSU. Brandt will soon submit a proposal to his superiors. "At this level we are very respective because it's our mission," he said. Should the university approve the proposal, a memorandum of agreement would be negotiated with the city. The Demonstration Forest is expected to remain in control of the property. The city and community volunteers would provide upkeep. Approval is contingent upon guidelines that make the bike trails self-sustaining.
Teresa Herriman can be reached at therriman@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald
