Unleashing the Power of a Bike Park!
Here’s the Dirt: the Redding Bike Park is finally becoming a reality!
The concept of building a Bike Park in Redding has been around for years, an idea driven by many passionate groups and individuals. However, the funding needed to make it a reality remained elusive. In 2020, the City of Redding applied for and was awarded a $6.7 million Statewide Park Development Grant for the revitalization of Caldwell Park (a beloved space that turned 60 in 2022!). A portion of this grant was designated for building a Bike Park, making the dreams of so many finally come true! "The [Bike Park] project is especially beneficial to the community in that the selected features are the direct result of the community engagement process, grassroots initiatives and non-profit partners including the Redding Trail Alliance, Redding Parks & Trails Foundation, and Skate Movement” (2020 City of Redding FB post).
Fast Forward to 2023
The City of Redding’s reputation as a biking community continues to grow, with hundreds of miles of trails, bike lanes, multiple bike shops, bike events, a high school mountain bike team, a brand new Bike Share program, and more. This new Bike Park is meant to complement our trail system and offer a progressive training ground for users to build their skills. It will be a sustainable recreation facility with broad appeal and the first of its kind in the north state region.
In the past two months, the dirt started flying and a new pump track for youth and adult mountain bike riders of all levels is rapidly taking shape. It’s been designed, sculpted, and packed by the talented trail builders from the Redding Trail Alliance, creating a world class track for mountain bike riders of all levels to hone their skills and have fun!
Last weekend the 150 volunteers who came out for the 2023 Community Clean-Up (an annual event sponsored by the Redding Parks & Trails Foundation) cleared out 2 tons (4000 lbs.) of garbage and chipped 100 yards of vegetation in the area between the Bike Park and the river. This effort drastically improved the visual appeal of this section of the trail and the entire Bike Park space.
In the coming months, construction on the final part of the Bike Park (next to the Pump Track) is set to begin. This phase will offer a Drop Zone, Beginner-Intermediate-Advanced Jump Lines and a Skills Trail. There will be 21 distinct, robust features with 6 different types of ramps and jumps. Once the Redding Bike Park is completed, our identity as a Bike Town will be further solidified!
That’s AWESOME for biking enthusiasts, but how can a Bike Park add value to a community?
Often when people talk about building mountain bike trails or pump tracks, they talk about how much fun people can have riding them or they talk about the qualitative benefits of a tourism and community strategy that involves cycling infrastructure. But the broader quantitative benefits are often understated. Data from communities across the country are demonstrating that these tracks and trails have turned out to be an essential aspect of their strategy for building a positive, prosperous, sustainable community for everyone to enjoy and benefit from.
Consider the following factors revealed in this data:
The economic impact when a community uses these trails and parks in their strategic planning:
Communities report substantial economic benefits due to increased tourism and higher livability scores attracting new people to their community.The obvious and not-so-obvious health benefits of getting outside and exercising:
People are actively seeking livable, walkable, bikeable places to live, in greater numbers than ever seen before.Boost in skills growth by people using these facilities that are designed for all levels and ages:
Athletes and recreational users alike benefit from these opportunities to learn and grow leading them to more confidently use local trails.Mountain bike trails and pump tracks offer a safe, accessible space for a diverse group of people of all ages and abilities:
By creating a sense of belonging and ownership, you dramatically improve the quality of life in the community.
We are so lucky to live in an area with extreme natural beauty and resources. Over 200 miles of hiking and biking trails have been developed and acres of open spaces are protected, allowing both community members and visitors to experience nature at its best. Adding this well-designed, purposefully planned bike facility to our community portfolio is not an expenditure. It is an investment with a quantifiable, positive return for our entire community.
The Boulder in the Road: a $200,000 Funding Gap!
The grant funding for this project that was applied for (2019) and awarded (2020) was designed to cover ALL of the costs of construction. Unfortunately, since 2020, construction costs have skyrocketed, making community support and fundraising a necessity to bridge the $200,000 funding gap needed to complete this project. Communities across the country are facing similar situations in park and trail projects—despite their community members clamoring for more of them!
The Foundation understands this new reality and has stepped up our fundraising efforts to help bridge funding gaps for important community projects like this one.
In May (2023) we became a Blue Square ($10,000) sponsor of the Redding Bike Park project in collaboration with Redding Trail Alliance’s fundraising efforts to bridge the $200,000 funding gap in the Bike Park project.
To add to these efforts, the Foundation has dedicated our 2023 North State Giving Tuesday Campaign to the purchase of one of the jump features needed to complete the next phase ($12,000) and will provide matching funds to reach this worthy goal.
We hope you will join us in supporting this worthwhile project!
