A little over two years after a renewed campaign to establish a bike park in Elkford kicked off, the finishing touches have been put on the final product, with the pump track portion of Elkford’s brand-new bike park now paved and good to go.
“We did it, well 99 percent of it anyways,” said Elkford Biking club founder and president Jason Meldrum, who said there was some springtime landscaping still on the agenda. But as far as the young cyclists of Elkford are concerned, the job is done.
“What started as a simple Facebook post from my wife and I due to continually driving our son to the Crowsnest pass, Fernie and Kimberley to the bike parks, grew to this in a little over 2 years,” said Meldrum.
The bike park, located in central Elkford along the Boivin corridor cost nearly $400,000, of which $130,000 was raised directly from the community with the remainder coming from grants. The Elkford Biking Club, which formed to seek grants and manage the project is made up of community volunteers.
Work on the park has been ongoing since August, when workers from Contour Trails set about shaping the trail. There was a wait until paving company Velo Solutions could come to pave the pump-track portion in the last week, but Meldrum said the wait was worth it, and the community had been eager to chip in to help right to the end.
“Over the course of two fast-paced days, we had upwards of 14 volunteers helping us get this done,” said Meldrum.
“The final truck and crew pulled out of town around 8pm Saturday evening after the Elkford Biking Club signed off on the pump track. Monday we got to work with temporary markings on the pump track and security fence for the fun to begin!
“To stand at our finished product and chat with parents of a toddler who just learned a strider bike, and watch their confidence grow lap after lap and see the smiles on kids faces, is 100 percent what this was about. It is so humbling and rewarding watch our towns next generation enjoy our hard work.”
The Elkford Biking Club will be hosting a grand opening sometime in spring, following some minor landscaping work.
READ MORE: Elkford wants a bike park
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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