Lafayette Poses Questions About Bike Park Proposal

Lafayette city staff and volunteers are gathering public input and contextual information to answer key questions on the proposed BMX bike park.

The opinions on the proposal for Lafayette Community Park were gathered from a joint hearing of the City Council and Parks, Trails and Recreation Commission earlier this month.

According to a weekly summary by Lafayette City Manager Steve Falk, "the City Council agreed that before it could make a final decision on whether to build the BMX park, it needed answers for several questions," including:

• What is the projected usage of the park at different times of the day, week, season?
• What is a realistic estimate of the annual maintenance and periodic refurbishment costs?
• What do similar parks typically look like three to five years after they open?
• What are the safety records of BMX parks? What are the features of a “safe” park and how do those compare with the proposal?
• What are the additional costs, if any, to insure the facility?
• Do other BMX parks charge fees? If so, how are they levied?
• What is the soil stability on the site?

Representatives from the City Council and Parks, Trails and Recreation Commission will work with Recreation Director Jennifer Russell to craft a report for the council that addresses these questions, Falk said. The public can register an opinion by emailing cityhall@lovelafayette.org

There is a website of opposition to the BMX plan because of environmental and fiscal concerns. The city government website has a page of addition information on the proposed bike park at the south end of the Community Park (near the ballfields), going back to a 2008 proposal to address the problem of unauthorized packed-dirt bike jumps at the Community Park. "Funds will come from park fees and donations; not the general fund," the city states on its additional info page.

To date, $104,500 has been spent, "primarily on environmental studies, permits and project management," said Falk in a followup email. That includes $25,800 in grant money from state and federal agencies, "due to a report of a red-legged frog sighting many years ago," Falk said.

If the City Council goes forward with the bike park, it will cost an additional $237,000 to complete, the majority of it for "permitting, construction, mitigation and monitoring," the city manager said.