SOARING IN THE CITY
New BMX park by Gardiner will offer sweeping views of the lake and a place for riders to test their jumps,
Sandwiched between the Gardiner Expressway and Lakeshore Ave. W., Toronto’s newest bike park is an incongruous sight for passing drivers: BMX bikes soar off dirt ramps as cars and trucks rumble past on either side.
Though the grand opening won’t take place until September, cyclists are already putting Sunnyside Bike Park’s jump lines, pump tracks and wall ride through the paces. On top of the largest packed dirt mound, which gives a sweeping view of Lake Ontario and the surrounding highway, a group of teenagers are enthusiastic about the new features. “Awesome,” said 15-year-old Caleb Emerson, who rode the GO train in from Oakville to check out the park. “Beautiful,” agreed 13-year-old Nigel Zakss, who came by with his older brother Noah. “About time,” said Terry Leimonis, a 31year-old Toronto firefighter sitting astride a lime green BMX bike.
“There’s a lot of kids who want to get out and ride their bikes and there’s nowhere to do it,” said Leimonis, who has been riding for 19 years.
The city is hoping the new attraction will dissuade riders from building unauthorized dirt jumps in parks and nature areas.
“In the Humber, in the Don, in Highland Creek, in those ravines, that’s where kids are doing this,” said Scott Laver, who works in the city’s urban forestry department.
“They go and they build something — I don’t blame them, they want to ride that stuff.
Unfortunately, city of Toronto staff will have to go in and remove it for safety and liability concerns, and also the impact on the natural environment.”
Laver said the park’s “soft opening” on July 18 allowed riders test riding the jumps to help pack down the dirt and reveal any deficiencies.
Similar to ski hills, the park’s various features are colour-coded by difficulty level: green for beginners, blue for intermediate riders and black diamond for experienced riders.
For first-time riders, an introductory skills track winds around trees at the park’s west end. Laver said part of the park’s design philosophy was a concentrated effort to attract cyclists of all skill levels.
Dave McGowan brought his two sons, 10-year-old Jack and 7-year-old Evan, who are both learning the sport.
“They did a good job,” said McGowan.
“It’s in a funny spot, but it uses up land that probably couldn’t be used for too much else,” he said. Stephanie Robertson, visiting the park with her 7-year-old son Kai, agreed.
“It’s nice to see that they didn’t slap a condo here,” she said. Throughout the park, which was designed by Vancouver rider Jay Hoots, natural materials dominate: elevated wooden boardwalks, carved logs, rocks and hard-packed clay mounds. “We’re trying to offer the natural environment to people, so they don’t go into the bush and ride trails,” Hoots said. The dirt was sourced from a nearby development project and Hoots hand-selected many of the logs from trees downed by the ice storm. The park is open to the public from dawn to dusk, but is not officially supervised. Riders are advised to wear helmets and padding. While there’s certainly an element of risk inherent in the sport, Leimonis said it’s safer for everyone to have cyclists riding in the park than on city streets. “On the roads you have drivers, you have two-tonne vehicles travelling at 40 or 50 kilometres an hour in side streets. When those hit you, you’re going to see a lot more serious injuries. As opposed to here, if you fall you’re going to get bumps and bruises — maybe (an injured) wrist or two,” Leimonis said.