Bike park plan jumps key hurdle

A COMMUNITY-DESIGNED bike park for Jan Juc’s Bob Pettitt Reserve is a step closer after Surf Coast Shire council approved a risk management plan, as the $50,000 project enters its final planning stages.

The council endorsed insurance reports on the proposed bike park upgrade, which the Surf Coast Mountain Bike Club (SCMBC) and Anglesea Bike Park Community Asset Committee (ABPCAC) are designing with input from young local riders.

Municipal Association of Victoria Insurance handed its report to the council earlier this month following a February site inspection. The council said its insurer, JTL, provided positive feedback on the findings.

Cr Mike Bodsworth, a former ABPCAC member, said he was pleased to endorse the reports, and that he was confident the community design would deliver the best possible results.

“We don’t want to underestimate the impact that we can have through this approach, and the joy it can bring the people using the park, and the people that are empowered to shape it, design it, dig it and look after it,” Cr Bodsworth said.

Council chief Robyn Seymour would have final say for approval of the final park design, pending endorsement from the SCMBC and ABPCAC.

The bike clubs have released draft designs for their revamp, which are available for comment on the council website until April 8.

In August last year the council allocated $30,000 from a federal government local infrastructure grant and $20,000 of its own cash to expand the Jan Juc bike park.

The council indicated it had seen a spike in rider-built jumps at the reserve since the start of COVID-19.

The new community-led design would allow local riders to continue shaping their own park, but with appropriate oversight from authorities.

Councillors voted in December for the community to lead the design of the revamp within design and construction criteria.