Kids build bike park, city recommends restoration

**CLsurf** · 05-20-2020, 05:18 PM

Longmont teens hope to save bike park they built, but city officials recommend removal: https://www.timescall.com/2020/05/19...mends-removal/

Thoughts?

**californiagrown** · 05-20-2020, 06:05 PM

How long has it been there, how good is the build, how much attention is paid to its environmental impact?

If you build a jump spot in a suburban area designated for environmental restoration you have to expect it will get torn down eventually. It sucks to have all that hard work go away, but its a known risk.

If i were trying to save it, i would work with the parks dept to pitch it as an actual park. They could throw up split rail fencing around the jumps, and restore the area around it. City's fucking love skate parks (its why they are always right outside city halls), so this could be pitched in a similar manner where it could be incorporated in the natural setting.

**TBS** · 05-20-2020, 10:20 PM

Gotta give these kids props - been working on this since they were seven years old.

And yet, I agree with Californiagrown - build an unsanctioned trail in a suburban area and it will likely get torn down. Sounds like they created some drainage issues along with the jumps.

**Jong Lafitte** · 05-20-2020, 11:14 PM

Disclaimer I’m a little buzzed. The bitch of it is we’ve lost so much natural riparian environment here it’s not funny. Especially along the St. Vrain (with which LH converges). On the st v, I could fish from behind my apt when I moved here like downtown. Nice narrow natural channel with plenty of tree cover. and now three years later it looks like the LA aquaduct but with grass.

There was a huge problem with the 2013 floods so they initiated a flood mitigation plan and much of town has seen the widening of the channel and removal of trees and a basic terraforming to get to something that looks like a bayou park. Large wide sloping channel with just a shit load of sod on both sides. So I see the need to keep the “natural “ areas “natural” cuz there’s so much less of them from even thee years ago.

I know I’m talking more about the “main” river but it’s like the overall availability of environments like that, it’s just fallen off drastically even in a short time since 2013.

That said I hardly trust the government to do the right thing on any matter and those trails look fun. Friends nephew loved going there. Good stuff. Is the fox family gonna be affected by a little bike park that’s not in use at night? I dunno I don’t profess to. Seems like a fucking shopping center where theY kill all the prairie dogs and everything else to put it up would have more impact if you ask me. Not sure about the erosion aspect, it’s not like they killed all the grass and trees but also guessing that erosion mitigation wasn’t on the forefront of the trail designers’ minds. (Also it doesn’t really rain much here and we depend on the snowmelt coming down the river).

Also that’s not the only covert track next to the river. It’s not like they say that you can’t ride off-road when along the greenbelt. Reminds me of Missing Persons League when the kid is explaining that he stuck to wildlife trails. I dunno.

Tough thing but I’m stoked to see the kids advocating for it and getting involved.

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**Core Shot** · 05-21-2020, 07:16 AM

It’s Left Hand Creek

4:20pm we gonna ride

Popo caint catch us all

**Name Redacted** · 05-21-2020, 07:32 AM

Seems like it is just part of growing up. We had a lot of the same thing happen where I grew up. Bike park, skate park, sketchy rope swings, illegal camp spots, forts out in the woods. The world is constantly tearing down cool shit that kids built to build some lame ass shopping center or neighborhood, but you know what? That's what keeps it fresh. The next generation will just have to go build their own stuff. It'll happen, life goes on, sorry kids.

**Kinnikinnick** · 05-21-2020, 07:44 AM

Thank god the open space nazis are out there looking out for vegetation!!

The same full of shit vegetation is more important than the citizens crap from parks and rec cops. These people practice their own religion worshiping the concept of nature’s purity in the middle of cities and fight their jihad against the grand offenses of erosion and plant and animal disturbance.

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