RUBEN ORTIZ
BIKE PARK DESIGNER AND CO-BUILD MANAGER
MAY 8, 2015
Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening - Photo Courtesy Jeff Gauvin, April 25, 2015
Q. How did you get the idea for Bike Park?
A. For me, It all started when I was getting ready for my move from Orlando, FL to Goodyear, AZ in 2010. I was doing research into Mountain Biking since I was finally going to live near mountains. I grew up racing BMX and was excited about getting back into biking. I noticed other states like Colorado, California, and Washington had Bike Parks but I was surprised there was not any in the valley. The Phoenix area only had a small Pump Track in McDowell Regional Park an hour drive from Goodyear. So I got involved with the local biking organizations and started talking to Parks and Recreation Directors at Estrella, White Tank, and The City of Goodyear about building a Pump Track that could eventually lead to a full blown Bike Park.
Q. How long has it been in the works?
A. It’s been 2 years since the first meeting that David Cardwell, Kim Doud, Mike Park, Brian Murphy, Brian Roberts and I of the West Valley Trail Alliance met with The City of Goodyear onsite. Since then it has been about a dozen meetings and hundreds of emails that David (Project Coordinator/Co-Build Manager) and I have partaken in with each other and the City.
Q. How did you decide on a location?
A. Estrella Mountain Ranch is a great biking community with miles upon miles of trails including the beloved F.I.N.S. What better place to have it then at the beautiful Foothills Community Park just a pedal from the trails with great amenities such as restrooms, water fountains, and concession stands? The City already had a football field sized platform of dirt 6ft tall onsite from grading the property for the soccer and baseball fields. So we didn’t need to haul in dirt which Tad Peters calculated would be approximately 90 dump trucks of dirt.
Q. What did you have to do in order to get the support and permission to break ground? Tell me about your partnerships, if any, with Newland, the City of Goodyear, and the high school.
A. Yes, first we would like to thank Nathan Torres (Director of Parks and Recreation) and the City of Goodyear for the opportunity to build this amazing amenity. Goodyear has been great to work with. David Cardwell and Kim Doud presented the Bike Park project to the HOA in Estrella Mountain Ranch with much support and Pete Teiche of Newland has offered any help we need as well.
A. For me, It all started when I was getting ready for my move from Orlando, FL to Goodyear, AZ in 2010. I was doing research into Mountain Biking since I was finally going to live near mountains. I grew up racing BMX and was excited about getting back into biking. I noticed other states like Colorado, California, and Washington had Bike Parks but I was surprised there was not any in the valley. The Phoenix area only had a small Pump Track in McDowell Regional Park an hour drive from Goodyear. So I got involved with the local biking organizations and started talking to Parks and Recreation Directors at Estrella, White Tank, and The City of Goodyear about building a Pump Track that could eventually lead to a full blown Bike Park.
Q. How long has it been in the works?
A. It’s been 2 years since the first meeting that David Cardwell, Kim Doud, Mike Park, Brian Murphy, Brian Roberts and I of the West Valley Trail Alliance met with The City of Goodyear onsite. Since then it has been about a dozen meetings and hundreds of emails that David (Project Coordinator/Co-Build Manager) and I have partaken in with each other and the City.
Q. How did you decide on a location?
A. Estrella Mountain Ranch is a great biking community with miles upon miles of trails including the beloved F.I.N.S. What better place to have it then at the beautiful Foothills Community Park just a pedal from the trails with great amenities such as restrooms, water fountains, and concession stands? The City already had a football field sized platform of dirt 6ft tall onsite from grading the property for the soccer and baseball fields. So we didn’t need to haul in dirt which Tad Peters calculated would be approximately 90 dump trucks of dirt.
Q. What did you have to do in order to get the support and permission to break ground? Tell me about your partnerships, if any, with Newland, the City of Goodyear, and the high school.
A. Yes, first we would like to thank Nathan Torres (Director of Parks and Recreation) and the City of Goodyear for the opportunity to build this amazing amenity. Goodyear has been great to work with. David Cardwell and Kim Doud presented the Bike Park project to the HOA in Estrella Mountain Ranch with much support and Pete Teiche of Newland has offered any help we need as well.
Q. What ages do the tracks cater to?
A. The Bike Park caters to all ages. We designed the park to have something for everyone, from the toddlers on peddless pushbikes to local pros wanting a place to hone their skills. We will have beginner, intermediate, and advanced lines for riders to progress threw.
Q. Are helmets required?
A. It’s a ride at your own risk facility free to the public. The use of protective equipment such as helmets, kneepads, elbow pads, and gloves are strongly recommended.
Q. It looks like you've had a lot of wonderful volunteers help out. Please tell me more about what it's taken to get this built with manpower?
A. Yes, we cannot put into words how much we appreciate the help we have gotten from not only locals but we’ve also gotten help from people out of state that heard about the project from our Facebook page. Without the volunteers, this park could not have been built. David Cardwell and I went out onsite with Jeremy Figueroa the Parks Superintendent of Goodyear to mark the footprint. Enrique from the City dumped the piles with heavy machinery. Then we came in with shovels, rakes, and tampers to create the shape, pack it in, and water it to cure the features in our Arizona sun. It took us 5 months to complete phase 1 and will need volunteers to help maintain the park with guidance from the West Valley Trail Alliance.
Q. What is the feedback you've been hearing? My husband and daughter LOVE the track, by the way!
A. The feedback has been great! We had over 100 people at the Grand Opening and you can see 10-20 people on that hill at any time. On our Facebook page, some of the videos have reached over 2,600 people organically. Kids are putting down the video games and wanting to help build and ride. If you ask me, that’s a win.
A. The Bike Park caters to all ages. We designed the park to have something for everyone, from the toddlers on peddless pushbikes to local pros wanting a place to hone their skills. We will have beginner, intermediate, and advanced lines for riders to progress threw.
Q. Are helmets required?
A. It’s a ride at your own risk facility free to the public. The use of protective equipment such as helmets, kneepads, elbow pads, and gloves are strongly recommended.
Q. It looks like you've had a lot of wonderful volunteers help out. Please tell me more about what it's taken to get this built with manpower?
A. Yes, we cannot put into words how much we appreciate the help we have gotten from not only locals but we’ve also gotten help from people out of state that heard about the project from our Facebook page. Without the volunteers, this park could not have been built. David Cardwell and I went out onsite with Jeremy Figueroa the Parks Superintendent of Goodyear to mark the footprint. Enrique from the City dumped the piles with heavy machinery. Then we came in with shovels, rakes, and tampers to create the shape, pack it in, and water it to cure the features in our Arizona sun. It took us 5 months to complete phase 1 and will need volunteers to help maintain the park with guidance from the West Valley Trail Alliance.
Q. What is the feedback you've been hearing? My husband and daughter LOVE the track, by the way!
A. The feedback has been great! We had over 100 people at the Grand Opening and you can see 10-20 people on that hill at any time. On our Facebook page, some of the videos have reached over 2,600 people organically. Kids are putting down the video games and wanting to help build and ride. If you ask me, that’s a win.
A NOTE FROM RUBEN:
Anyone who would like help maintain the Bike Park
and/or surrounding trails please reach out to us at
Facebook.com/EstrellaFoothillsBikePark
or
WestValleyTrailAlliance.org,
as we would greatly appreciate the help.
Anyone who would like help maintain the Bike Park
and/or surrounding trails please reach out to us at
Facebook.com/EstrellaFoothillsBikePark
or
WestValleyTrailAlliance.org,
as we would greatly appreciate the help.
APRIL 2015:
We asked the City of Goodyear for information about the pump track.
We wish our neighbors and friends the best for tomorrow's grand opening!!
We asked the City of Goodyear for information about the pump track.
We wish our neighbors and friends the best for tomorrow's grand opening!!
|
It was great to see the community support for the project. This truly is a community amenity - Not only was it conceived and designed by the community, it is also being built and will be maintained by the community. We simply are helping facilitate the process and we are looking forward to a new exciting amenity for all of our residents to enjoy. |
show your support with a donation here
http://www.gofundme.com/bikepark
connect with the estrella foothills bike park on facebook
Information Provided by Nathan Torres, City of Goodyear Director of Parks and Recreation
History & Purpose
Re: Foothills Community Park.
As background, the West Valley Trails Alliance (WVTA) approached the City in May of 2013 regarding a potential partnership to develop a pump track in an undeveloped area at Foothills Community Park. A pump track is a continuous loop of smooth dirt mounds and berms that are ridden by a bicyclist without pedaling. The idea of a pump track is to use this pumping motion to maintain your speed around the track without pedaling. Many of these amenities are made possible through partnerships between local biking/trail groups and city or county parks, such as WVTA. The WVTA group is comprised of Goodyear residents that support trail development, mountain biking, hiking and running in the Southwest Valley. WVTA has successfully partnered with Newland Communities and Maricopa County to create several trails at Estrella Regional Park.
The WVTA group is partnering with the City to design, build and maintain the pump track for Foothills Community Park. WVTA has design and build experience in bike trails, pump tracks, BMX tracks, heavy construction, irrigation and landscape construction, electrical and aeronautical engineering and project management. The group has access to over 300 volunteers to assist with the build and would perform on-going maintenance for the park through the City’s “Adopt-a-Park” program.
For the past several months, staff and representatives from the WVTA have discussed this project with several key stakeholders including; the BMX Track in Goodyear, Estrella resident committees and community HOA’s, Estrella Foothills High School, Newland Communities, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, and the City’s Police, Legal and Engineering departments. All stakeholders are 100% supportive of this effort.
Project Description
Pump tracks are becoming a popular and desirable recreational activity across the nation. It is not uncommon for bicycling enthusiasts to travel many miles to another city or state to ride a pump track. The City of Prescott built a pump track through a similar partnership and has proven to be a well utilized and successful amenity for Prescott. McDowell Mountain Regional Park and the City of Show Low also have similar amenities constructed through these types of partnerships.
Re: Foothills Community Park.
As background, the West Valley Trails Alliance (WVTA) approached the City in May of 2013 regarding a potential partnership to develop a pump track in an undeveloped area at Foothills Community Park. A pump track is a continuous loop of smooth dirt mounds and berms that are ridden by a bicyclist without pedaling. The idea of a pump track is to use this pumping motion to maintain your speed around the track without pedaling. Many of these amenities are made possible through partnerships between local biking/trail groups and city or county parks, such as WVTA. The WVTA group is comprised of Goodyear residents that support trail development, mountain biking, hiking and running in the Southwest Valley. WVTA has successfully partnered with Newland Communities and Maricopa County to create several trails at Estrella Regional Park.
The WVTA group is partnering with the City to design, build and maintain the pump track for Foothills Community Park. WVTA has design and build experience in bike trails, pump tracks, BMX tracks, heavy construction, irrigation and landscape construction, electrical and aeronautical engineering and project management. The group has access to over 300 volunteers to assist with the build and would perform on-going maintenance for the park through the City’s “Adopt-a-Park” program.
For the past several months, staff and representatives from the WVTA have discussed this project with several key stakeholders including; the BMX Track in Goodyear, Estrella resident committees and community HOA’s, Estrella Foothills High School, Newland Communities, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, and the City’s Police, Legal and Engineering departments. All stakeholders are 100% supportive of this effort.
Project Description
Pump tracks are becoming a popular and desirable recreational activity across the nation. It is not uncommon for bicycling enthusiasts to travel many miles to another city or state to ride a pump track. The City of Prescott built a pump track through a similar partnership and has proven to be a well utilized and successful amenity for Prescott. McDowell Mountain Regional Park and the City of Show Low also have similar amenities constructed through these types of partnerships.
Project Location
Foothills Community Park has an undeveloped and unused area that is ideal for such an amenity. This bike feature amenity is a great use of undeveloped park land and the materials are readily available. The area is currently planned for Phase II of the future park development but construction is several years out due to limited funding. This project will be completed with very little cost to the City and is considered to be a temporary amenity until Phase II of the park master plan is implemented. If the track is successful and determined to be a desirable amenity to the park, the Phase II master plan can be updated to include this amenity. If not, it can easily and inexpensively be leveled as there is no permanent infrastructure associated with the track.
Foothills Community Park has an undeveloped and unused area that is ideal for such an amenity. This bike feature amenity is a great use of undeveloped park land and the materials are readily available. The area is currently planned for Phase II of the future park development but construction is several years out due to limited funding. This project will be completed with very little cost to the City and is considered to be a temporary amenity until Phase II of the park master plan is implemented. If the track is successful and determined to be a desirable amenity to the park, the Phase II master plan can be updated to include this amenity. If not, it can easily and inexpensively be leveled as there is no permanent infrastructure associated with the track.
Roles of Parties:
WVTA will:
Newland Communities will:
City will:
WVTA will provide the volunteer labor for the project build and has been securing donations to assist in the build expenses. Staff is estimating the financial impact of less than $5,000 and is covered within this year’s adopted budget.
Next Steps
This bike feature activity at Foothills Community Park will offer a unique and desirable amenity for our youth and adult community. It will also provide a fun and healthy recreational activity that will contribute to Goodyear’s quality of life and promote a sense of community.
WVTA will:
- Design of the track
- Provide volunteers to construct the track (approximately 16-20 weekend days to complete)
- Provide maintenance with volunteers through “Adopt” the track – similar to Adopt a Street and Adopt a Park programs
Newland Communities will:
- Provide the water supply for the build
City will:
- Provide dirt that is already on site
- Provide heavy equipment and operators for a few days during the early period to assist with moving dirt on site (water truck, tractor)
- Oversee build and provide parks staff support where necessary
- Develop rules and post (similar to the amenities within the parks)
WVTA will provide the volunteer labor for the project build and has been securing donations to assist in the build expenses. Staff is estimating the financial impact of less than $5,000 and is covered within this year’s adopted budget.
Next Steps
This bike feature activity at Foothills Community Park will offer a unique and desirable amenity for our youth and adult community. It will also provide a fun and healthy recreational activity that will contribute to Goodyear’s quality of life and promote a sense of community.
