Vancouver Dirt Jump Park at Vanier Park

[the Master Plan Dan]

Well,

This has come along way and we are coming up to the final meeting when the Parks Department votes on the proposed BMX/MTB Dirt Jump Park proposed for Vanier Park in Kits.

We need people to head on over to the Parks Department in Stanley Park to show your support for this venue. It will be the first BMX/MTB specific park in the City of Vancouver.

We would like to see as many people as we can with emphasis on children and women/girls.

Hope to see you all there!

I have copied the location/time below and provided a link here...

http://vancouver.ca/parks/board/2009/090921/index.htm

Board of Parks and Recreation
Regular Board Meeting
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 7:00 pm
AGENDA

[Fast Orange]

bumped for moral support

Good luck!

[walleater]

Aye, my wife and I will be there as we don't live far away. Being a BMXer she'll be laughing at the dorky big bikes, and I'll be laughing at the kiddies bikes.

[the Master Plan Dan]

Bump... The meeting is tonight...

The more people that show up the better!

Cheers and see you there!

Dan

[enduramil]

Originally Posted by the Master Plan Dan

Bump... The meeting is tonight...

The more people that show up the better!

Cheers and see you there!

Dan

I'm there in spirit.

[the Master Plan Dan]

Well the meeting was definately packed with bikers.

This is how the meeting rolled out. (In so many words, I was standing in the back typing away on my Blackberry... so these are not direct quotes)

The pushed the subject up from 3rd in line up to first seeing as the majority of the audience had no interest in the other reports being presented to council.

There were 6 speakers on the list to speak:

Speaker 1. Brought up that there was no facility in the city that is like this that this facility caters to all riders. Allowing riders to progress.

Speaker 2. Bicycle Advisory Committee. Complete support for the facility. Can practice in the city, ideal location. Great community links.
A. Encourages not to include parking. Safe environment for cyclists.
B. Consult with the Vancouver Bicycle Advisory Committee on the final design.

Speaker 3. Mother of a rider that supports the facility. Congratulated the process that was taken when the political steps/care taken by all parties. The time line is long too long in some cases and happy that the land is being used. Having been to parks she thinks that they are great places that the whole family can use. That the sport was inclusive of people of all ages. That the sport builds respect between the family generations. Bikers under represented in the west end of the city.

One of the Parks Commissioners asked about the time line of actually getting the park ready to be ridden. It was stressed that there is no time line and seeing as the Parks department has never done anything like this there is no precedent. But it was noted that the sooner the better and best case scenario was early next summer. But probably later.

Speaker 4. Neighborhood resident who supports the facility. Young woman supports the facility after seeing family use the whistler facility. Would like to ride jumps but there aren't any in the city. The disproportionate amount of other facilities verses bike facilities.

Speaker 5. Shop owner - family bike store. Parents asking where they can ride their bikes? Provide a place for kids to ride. A huge community which is growing each day. All age groups ride not just kids. The diversity of age of people that will use this facility is huge. That the park design and layout can't exclude kids. Provide parking for parents. Artificial lighting is important as the days get shorter as winter approaches.

Speaker 6. Professional rider feels that it is his time to give back to the community. 2004 the jumps at Oak torn down. No real facility since the Oak Street jumps were removed and the investment isn't worth it if the jumps are going to get removed. Other cities have made the steps and Vancouver has sat ideal. Vancouver could be a shining example of what can be done with a stewardship board to liaison with the users, residents, riders. Emergency access, 2 bike paths, other uses, commuters can stop after work and use the facility.

With the floor closed to comments from the crowd it was opened to Commissioners that had comments and or questions:

Sarah Blyth fully supports the recommendation.

Stuart Mackinnon supports the recommendation. He noted that he knew little to nothing about BMX and that he was "godsmacked" that we had professional level athletes in the city and no where for them to train. Was excited that the regenerated forest was being put to good use. He did note that he wanted money found to build a Master Plan for the Vanier Park area.

Lorretta Woodcock. Excited about this project. Happy to see the advisory committee involved. She did note that the issue of providing no parking was a concern as parents would need a place to drop their kids off and park as they rode the facility.

Aaron Jasper. Enthusiastic about the report and facility. Get youth active. That there are more than just sports fields. Parking is important. Up and running for the summer.

Constance Barnes supports the facility! Vancouverites getting into vehicles going elsewhere was a concern for her when they could use a facility in their city. Amazed at the number of youth all ages outside instead of inside on a computer. Same issue with parking.

Unanimously voted in favour of the Facility!

Now onto the design phase!

There are a few people that need to be thanked as their work in the matter was instrumental in getting this facility through the political maze.

Chris Young
Jay Miron
Dave Tolnai
Rob Venables

From the Parks board these two people helped us with each step in answering our questions.

Sarah Blyth
Mark Vulliamy

Well that is a long chapter completed. From 2004 until now we have approval for the BMX/MB Park.

[Jehmee]

its about time! i'm super stoked, can't wait to see some plans!

[chubby5000]

Yaaaaaay!!!!!! Unanimously Approved!!!!!!!!!!!

[dragonbones]

I liked how after the park was approved and the board moved on to the next matter, 95% of the people in the room got up and left.

[ReductiMat]

Thanks to all involved!

[redrum]

Thanks for the wrap-up Dan! This is awesome news and more proof that we really need to spend more time on our jump bikes!

[JeffK95Z]

Glad to hear it went well!! Thanks to all that went and spoke!

Was there any negative talk at all?

How about the bard on the beech folks? If i remember, they were the only group that had concerns @ the last meeting?

[the Master Plan Dan]

Originally Posted by JeffK95Z

Glad to hear it went well!! Thanks to all that went and spoke!

Was there any negative talk at all?

How about the bard on the beech folks? If i remember, they were the only group that had concerns @ the last meeting?

Interestingly enough there was no negative imput from anyone.

There was an older lady that seems to fregent these meetings and she was against it at the last meeting. She was there last night but didn't speak to the Bike Park.

Even the Residents of Kits who lodged an offical "complaint" about the park weren't present last night.

The Bard on the Beach folks weren't there but it was noted that any events that would take place at the Park (Not that it is being constructed with large scale events in mind) would not coincide with any of the existing events that already take place in the park to avoid possible noise conflicts.

Dan

[SkunkworkS]

Very glad to see that there will be jumps and a bike park in Vancouver once again.

The destruction of the Oak jumps dropped my faith in city politics to an all-time low and it has now been slowly rebuilding.

[enduramil]

Well done, bloody well done.