Boitanio Bike Park is going to get some TLC this summer courtesy of the Williams Lake Cycling Club and City of Williams Lake.
“The City is always proud to support community groups working to improve amenities for everyone to enjoy,” said Ian James, director of community services, of the construction about to get underway at the bike park.
“This work will improve the trails and encourage newer and younger riders who are interested in the sport to participate and get active.”
Williams Lake Cycling Club president Shawn Lewis said they plan to create a new pump track, a new green line for the three to five-year-old riders and modify some of the existing lines.
“We have enlisted the help of two contractors, Ron Benisch and James Doerfling from Jimco Services. Ron did the heavy lifting for us using his wheel loader to move some under-utilized piles of dirt into an area of the park where we plan to create a new, larger slightly more advanced pump track. This is where (Doerfling) will be doing most of his work,” said Lewis.
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“To go along with work on the new pump track we will also have (Doerfling) modify the jump line at the front of the bike park. This line has three separate tracks that allow for progression and we will be using existing dirt to make the last set of jumps more compatible with the others. We also plan to have the jump line’s exit lead to the new pump track.”
Lewis said Andrew Hutchinson, the club’s new bike park director, has been inspired to improve the curb appeal of the park as well.
“With that in mind we will be using volunteers to paint the perimeter fence and stain the kiosk. We will also be asking Mitch Cheek, of Solos Productions, to take an aerial photo of the park and use that image to update the map in the kiosk.”
The funding for the bike park comes from the City as part of a five-year, fee-for-service agreement signed in 2018.
“That funding pays for the sub-contractors and we hope to use club member volunteer time to complete the other tasks,” Lewis said.
On April 18, the club held a volunteer maintenance day in the bike park to pick rocks, collect garbage and weed whack. Lewis said more than 20 people attended the clean-up day and collectively put in over 65 hours.
Upgrades planned for the park were made after the club solicited input from the riders, who Lewis said he hopes to keep happy with the changes.
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“It’s always a challenge to find the balance between all the different user groups. In the past we have had more than enough difficult lines so we are working more on the green/blue elements this year as well as tuning the lines that get the most usage,” Lewis said.
Construction is expected to continue into the fall of 2020. The bike park may be closed periodically during this time to ensure the safety of contractors and the public.
“I’m excited to see how the park will turn out when everything is done,” added the City’s Ian James. “It’s going to be a great improvement for the sport in Williams Lake.”
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