When friends Brad Wolgram and Malcolm McCutcheon came up with the idea for a dirt bike track for mountain bikers, they envisioned a place for new and experienced bikers alike to play and learn about the sport.
“We were all looking for a safe place to play our sport,” said McCutcheon.
“Mountain biking in St. Albert is hard to do because you need to build your own area,” added Wolgram, in a separate interview.
The two 17-year-olds are now heading a committee with the city to help create a new dirt bike track within St. Albert, slated for design in 2011 and construction in 2012.
The committee, and the support to build the track, came about after McCutcheon made an in camera presentation to city council in December, outlining the ideas he and Wolgram had about the potential area. Mayor Nolan Crouse, along with other members of council, supported the idea and called for a committee to work on the concept.
The project is one of 69 municipal projects listed on the funded portion of the 10-year capital plan, presented to councillors on Monday. The total cost for the bike track hasn’t been finalized, but the city has put $200,000 toward designs and construction in the 10-year plan.
Crouse said the park could serve as a gathering place for youth in the city that are interested in dirt biking. Currently, many bikers illegally use the skateboard park, he added.
“We currently turn a blind eye to this because they have nowhere else to go,” he said. “The youth of the city continue to ask for the track. Wherever I go, I’m constantly asked.”
Although city funds have been earmarked in the capital plan, Crouse said the committee would have to come up with ways to find the rest of the money needed to make the project happen.
“It’s not all about the government handing out money,” he said. “The committee will have to find a way to fund this.”
Recreation director Monique St. Louis said planning the track, which is sponsored by her department, will be led by McCutcheon and Wolgram and will invite other youths on to the committee in order to help with its design and construction.
“It’s a fantastic community-building project,” she said. “It fits a niche project that isn’t always easy to support … the city is great at supporting recreation opportunities.”
Both McCutcheon and Wolgram said they felt challenged by the idea of fundraising the remaining dollars to make the project happen, but said they were up for the work and hoped they could get both youth and adults on board to help them build the park.
“I think the biggest issue will be getting support from the community,” said Wolgram. “They may have difficulty seeing the need for it.”
Although the committee has held only one meeting, the friends say they are happy to see the process is moving along quickly for the park’s potential existence.
“This isn’t going to be a bunch of kids running around. This is going to be organized,” said McCutcheon.
