Glen Eagles skills park, West Vancouver, B.C. (built by Hoots Inc.)
I couldn’t make the meeting last week, but the Park Board heard from the public regarding a BMX and dirt jump park in currently vacant land near the Planetarium and Vanier Park.
The plan has moved one step closer to reality, with the facility getting lots of support from prospective users and the biking community, but still facing opposition from the Kits Point Residents Association. The Bard on the Beach theatre company remains concerned about potential noise levels from the site, which will be approximately 150 metres from the bike park.
Chris Young of the Vancouver Dirt Jump Coalition on Facebook offered this message to group members on the day after the decision.
“Thanks to all of those that came out to show their support at last night’s Park Board meeting. The Park Board did give its approval to move on to the next step, but there is much relationship building to be done with the community. The Kits Point Residents Association definitely has their concerns, because they feel they’re constantly under attack/on the defensive about user groups always wanting to ‘invade their area’. We’re members of the community, just as everyone else that uses the park. We’re confident we can work with this group and it can be a win-win for everybody.
Also, Bard on the Beach has concerns about noise levels at the park, since they’re 150 metres away, but most dirt jump parks don’t produce that much noise anyway. Bard on the Beach uses Vanier Park for 17 weeks spanning the entire summer, from May – September. We’ll be working closely with them to come up with solutions to alleviate their concerns as well.Â
We’ll continue to update as we know more.”