Council jumps on Jan Juc bike park proposal

A major revamp of the bike park at Bob Pettitt Reserve could be on the cards to help meet increasing demand from local riders.

At their meeting, Surf Coast Shire councillors resolved to upgrade the existing bike park in Jan Juc subject to a request to redirect a $30,000 government grant allocated to the proposed bike park at Torquay’s Ocean Acres Reserve.

If approved, the council would supplement this with a further $20,000, resulting in a $50,000 project aimed at providing an improved experience at one of the seven sanctioned locations in the shire.

Funds from the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program had been allocated to a proposal to build a small bike park at Ocean Acres but an officers’ report said it was considered too small in scale to provide an experience that would sustain riders’ interest over time.

The report noted the dilemma posed by rider-built bike jumps on public land which had become a greater challenge for the shire since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The term, rider-built, refers to jumps that are built by riders themselves, usually young people, who have constructed jumps in public parks or nature reserves.

The report said the jumps can become quite significant constructions aimed at highly skilled riders and their existence tended to polarise people – some love them, others loathe them.

“We hope to create a challenging and authentic experience for riders and we are keen to involve young people in the project from the design stage onwards,” Cr Mike Bodsworth said.

“Ideally, we’ll get to a situation where local riders are empowered by council to build and maintain jumps in agreed locations and to agreed standards.

“We’re proud to have adventurous and active locals that want to challenge themselves and celebrate the joy of digging and riding – we just need to work with riders to ensure it happens in the right ways.”

The pandemic and its lockdowns and restrictions have led to more examples of jumps appearing in Surf Coast Shire and other local government areas throughout Australia.

“It’s clear that building and riding the jumps is providing an incredibly valuable outlet for young people who are having to live through some extraordinarily tough times at the moment,” Cr Bodsworth said.

“The dilemma is that rider-built jumps are rarely welcomed by nearby residents and other park users and can damage environmentally important locations.

“Then there is the significant risk of injury and unfortunately there are precedents where young people have suffered life changing injuries and councils have been subject to large legal settlements.

“When we remove rider-built jumps we will explain why and we invite our young people to help make our sanctioned bike parks the best they can be.”

For more information head to the Surf Coast Shire website.

Anyone keen to help with maintenance works at council’s bike parks, can contact Surf Coast Shire council’s Recreation Planning Team at [email protected] or 5261 0600.