‘Communication key’ for bike track to remain, says councillor
A community-built bike track has caught the attention of the Christchurch City Council, and though a portion of it was recently removed, the riders have been promised the next step is communication.
There’s a haven for mountainbikers and thrill riders in a corner of Burnside Park that has been created by the community over more than eight years, so the legend goes, Liam Gillman, 15, says.
According to riders who have come and gone before Liam, “all of these [jumps and tracks] have been built by people” in the neighbourhood, he said.
“We had a family friend that came down here and started building them.”
But a recent removal of one of their jumps had the group of young riders fearing there was worse to come.
The jumps were a meeting point for the group of teens to practice their riding skills and a place where they worked as a team to maintain and refine the track, parent Joe Byers said.
“They’re constructing and building these ramps in a way they’ve learned from professional ramps at other bike parks. I’m impressed, the skill level of these ramps are good.
“The physics and the way they flow is right on, they’re not dangerously thrown together things, they’re well thought out.”
Many of the teens were riding around the country and competing in bike competitions on weekends, he said.
Byers, who emigrated to New Zealand with his family 18 months ago, said his son Ethan had learnt a lot of skills and made most of his friends through visiting the park’s bike track.
“If [the council] got rid of it, they would be pretty devastated.”
The passionate riders, all about 14, were there almost daily, often taking bottles of water, shovels and rakes to maintain the dirt jumps, parent Duncan Patchett said.
He had spoken to numerous parents of the young riders, “and they’re all really supportive of it”.
“They’re really happy their kids are out socialising and in the outdoors being active. All the parents think it’s a positive thing to be doing.”
But recent complaints have piqued the interest of the council and the viability of the bike track in the public park.
Christchurch City Council community parks manager Al Hardy said the local cricket club had complained there had been riding “in front of the cricket nets and on the pitch when the club were using them”.
“They were also digging holes and taking soil. Ranger staff have removed the mounds that were conflicting with other park users, and we have left the others until we can engage with the people who constructed them.”
Waimairi ward councillor Sam MacDonald said the issue had been brought to his attention last week.
The council wanted to work with those building the track to ensure the community could feel safe using the park.
“No-one’s at the point of having [the remaining jumps] removed.
“We’re not going around deliberately ripping out bike tracks to annoy people, we want everyone on the same page.
“We’ll get to an outcome where it’ll be fine. Communication is key.”