Progress made on bike/skate park

Local biking enthusiast group Bent Sprockets Inc. and the city of Newcastle have been working together toward the establishment of a new bike/skate park.

“A bike park has been an idea we’ve been pursuing for about six years,” Bent Sprockets Chair Jeremy Dedic said in an interview. The group “found and evaluated multiple locations within the town,” but none of these quite fit the bill for one reason or another, he said.

Undeterred by these setbacks and motivated by the desire “to build a pump track and a skills trail where riders of all ages could challenge themselves and improve their riding skills,” Dedic and company kept on. A few years ago, they approached the City Council about help with this project.

The council was receptive to the idea. Since then, “the project has expanded,” public works supervisor Greg Stumpff said. A generous donation from the Wyoming Refining Co. in the amount of $100,000 has allowed for such expansion.

According to Dedic, the park “will cover approximately 2 acres.” Of this space, “the skate park will occupy between 7,000 and 10,000 square feet, comprising about one-third of the area. And the bike pump track will be around 5,000 feet.” The park will also include “a bike and walking trail.”

Stumpff said that the land set aside to be used for the park is “three city lots along Salem Avenue and one lot in the culdesac of Deanne Avenue.” 

Dedic is enthusiastic about this location.

“This location is ideal,” he said. “It has established trees for shade, available water, plenty of topography for fun trails and room for a great skate park.”

Before any shovels hit the ground, Bent Sprockets and the city need to complete an MOU, or memorandum of understanding, to clarify “each party’s responsibilities.” This is necessary to avoid “(putting) an undue burden on the city,” Dedic said.

Additional preparation Dedic has planned includes hiring a professional to design the skate park and “receiving input from (local) youth regarding the features they would like in a skate park.”

“Safety, enjoyment, accessibility and other concerns are being considered in the design, along with minimal impact on the neighborhood, improving drainage, maintaining the trees and managing maintenance costs,” he said.

Bent Sprockets is composed of Chair Jeremy Dedic, Vice Chair Austin Commerville, Treasurer Zach Beam, Secretary Jamie Schmidt and member-at-large Caleb Carter.