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The area of the new 23rd Street Bike Park has seen plenty of trash — at one point, it was called the 23rd Street Dumps. But the most recent item to get dumped might have been the most significant.
At Friday’s ribbon cutting for the new park, Jeff Wilbert, interim parks and recreation director, said he planned to scrap the “Private Property” sign prohibiting trespassers from entering the park.
“We want to open this thing up,” Wilbert said.
And they did ... about five minutes after the ribbon cutting, kids could be seen zooming their bikes up and down the trails.
“This is a great asset to the community,” said Mark Werner, Chamber of Commerce Board President. “This was taking a lemon and making lemonade."
The lemonade includes three different trails depending on ability level. The green trail is the easiest, featuring mostly dirt, while the black trails offer some stair-type drops, gap jumps and rougher terrain. The blue trails are between the two. Roger Lomshek, owner of Tailwind Cyclists, has said the green trail was something that “an adventurous 12-year-old” could handle.
But it took a group of adventurous citizens to get the project rolling. In February, a citizen group led by Ronnie Light, John Harrison and Josh Poznic asked Pittsburg City Commissioners for permission to create the park. Next came the work, from clearing off the trails and killing poison ivy to creating a bridge, labor that took 75 people a countless number of man hours. Commissioners then voted to open the park at their Tuesday meeting.
“I want to thank everyone for their support,” Light said. “It took every ounce of effort, and I’m greatly appreciative of everybody who helped.”
But Light also warned that the park wasn’t completed. While the opened trails would mark the end of Phase One, ideas for future phases include the addition of a dirt-bike type of track with jumps, along with the relocation of the Pittsburg Skate Park. Light also said volunteers would continue to clean up the park and reroute the trails when necessary.
“We will not stop with our work days,” Light said. “We aren’t finished yet.”
• to help with the park, or for more information, visit www.23rdstreetbikepark.com.
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
The area of the new 23rd Street Bike Park has seen plenty of trash — at one point, it was called the 23rd Street Dumps. But the most recent item to get dumped might have been the most significant.
At Friday’s ribbon cutting for the new park, Jeff Wilbert, interim parks and recreation director, said he planned to scrap the “Private Property” sign prohibiting trespassers from entering the park.
“We want to open this thing up,” Wilbert said.
And they did ... about five minutes after the ribbon cutting, kids could be seen zooming their bikes up and down the trails.
“This is a great asset to the community,” said Mark Werner, Chamber of Commerce Board President. “This was taking a lemon and making lemonade."
The lemonade includes three different trails depending on ability level. The green trail is the easiest, featuring mostly dirt, while the black trails offer some stair-type drops, gap jumps and rougher terrain. The blue trails are between the two. Roger Lomshek, owner of Tailwind Cyclists, has said the green trail was something that “an adventurous 12-year-old” could handle.
But it took a group of adventurous citizens to get the project rolling. In February, a citizen group led by Ronnie Light, John Harrison and Josh Poznic asked Pittsburg City Commissioners for permission to create the park. Next came the work, from clearing off the trails and killing poison ivy to creating a bridge, labor that took 75 people a countless number of man hours. Commissioners then voted to open the park at their Tuesday meeting.
“I want to thank everyone for their support,” Light said. “It took every ounce of effort, and I’m greatly appreciative of everybody who helped.”
But Light also warned that the park wasn’t completed. While the opened trails would mark the end of Phase One, ideas for future phases include the addition of a dirt-bike type of track with jumps, along with the relocation of the Pittsburg Skate Park. Light also said volunteers would continue to clean up the park and reroute the trails when necessary.
“We will not stop with our work days,” Light said. “We aren’t finished yet.”
• to help with the park, or for more information, visit www.23rdstreetbikepark.com.
Kevin Flaherty can be reached at kevin.flaherty@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 Ext. 134
