PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council will consider awarding a $656,583 contract for the installation of a BMX pump track at Erickson Playfield when it meets today.
The proposed agreement with American Ramp Co. would pay for the installation of the track this fall.
The council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday. For viewing options and instructions for making public comment, visit the city’s website at www.cityofpa.us.
A pump track is a series of rollers and banked turns that enable bicyclists to generate momentum by using up and down pumping movements.
The idea is to slingshot through the undulating course without having to pedal.
“A pump track is a rolling series of looped paths that offer a fun way for kids and adults to build bicycle skills in a contained environment,” Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Director Corey Delikat said in a memo to the council.
“Pump tracks are exciting for all levels of riders and can be used for bikes, scooters and skateboards.”
The Port Angeles pump track is a collaboration between the city and the Lincoln Park BMX Association, which operates the popular BMX track at Lincoln Park.
It will be adjacent to Erickson Skate Park and the new Dream Playground between the Port Angeles YMCA and Civic Field.
The grant-funded, volunteer-driven project will be the first in the nation to have a dedicated loop for wheelchair users, Delikat said.
A combination of state and local grants and community donations will pay for the facility, he added.
The city and Clallam County each awarded $100,000 in lodging tax funds for the project. The track is expected to draw tourists from outside the region.
The city and the Lincoln Park BMX Association have applied for a $350,000 grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office to cover the remaining cost.
A state youth athletic field committee reviewed the proposals and ranked the Port Angeles pump track No. 9 out of 37 projects in the state, Delikat said.
“This puts the project in excellent position to receive the $350,000 request,” Delikat said in his memo.
New pump tracks that have opened in Leavenworth and Bend, Ore., have attracted international competitions, Lincoln Park BMX track operator Sean Coleman told the City Council in February.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
