Jason Stockfish | [email protected]
Jasper is getting a mountain bike skills park for residents and tourists alike to enjoy after almost a decade in the making.
The driving force behind the initiative is the Jasper Park Cycling Association (JPCA), and Hoots Inc. has been hired to construct the park.聽
Manu Loir-Mongazon, president of the JPCA, explained how it had been a long haul getting to this stage of the project that was first discussed in 2014, and the pandemic didn鈥檛 help speed the process up any.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been idling for about two years now since COVID started. It was mostly four of us on the (JPCA) board. We kept things going quietly, and I worked a lot on the bike park.鈥�
The first phase of the bike park is scheduled to be built and functional in the next few months, and if all goes according to plan, the project will be completed in 2023.
The bike park will be located at the far west end of Connaught Drive on the south side between the road and the railway tracks.
鈥淧arks Canada got a new officer in charge of the development permit and Jasper got a new CAO, so it took some time to put all the pieces together,鈥� Loir-Mongazon said.
鈥淏ut eventually, at the end of 2021, things really started to roll quickly, and we got approved by Parks earlier this year after we signed a lease agreement with the municipality (who holds the lease to the land).鈥�
The project is being funded by donations from private and corporate donors.
So far, the JPCA has raised $30,000, which is enough to pay for the first phase.
In order to complete the park in 2023, at least another $50,000 will need to be raised.
The intention is to integrate the skills park with the existing landscape as much as possible.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very small parcel (of land), but it鈥檚 got a really good natural slope and Jay Hoots, the contractor, is really stoked with what (he has to work) with in terms of jump lines and pump tracks (and) it should be all natural,鈥� Loir-Mangazon said.
When discussing his vision for Jasper鈥檚 bike park, Jay Hoots, the owner of Hoots Inc., said the design will be unique to the town.
鈥淎t the end of the day, the Jasper park is going to have its own function and feel so that it鈥檚 relevant to their backyard.鈥�
After working with Loir-Mangazon for the last five or six years, and two executives before him, Hoots said seeing the project near the construction stage was a great feeling.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited that our incremental but fundamental steps forward with the town, and with Parks and with everyone that believed that this could happen, is finally here.鈥�
Hoots added that he and his company will 鈥渨ork in and with鈥� the community to prepare the groundwork to raise the balance of funds required to complete the project next year.
鈥淥ur schedule is to work with the (JPCA) to be able to use the current funds and energy and excitement鈥o take the first meaningful steps, and to prove that everything that we said could come to fruition will,鈥� Hoots said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to take this dream and actually get it in the ground so that we can get kids on bikes and get them on jumps and then ultimately get the bike park into the community the way that we had all envisioned it from the public meetings.鈥�
Loir-Mangazon said he hopes that once Jasper has an established skills park, mountain bike enthusiasts will include the destination on their itinerary along with Edson, Hinton, Valemount and Prince George, all locations with bike parks.
鈥淲e鈥檝e never been as close to seeing it become a reality,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he first kid hitting a jump, once everything is done, is going to be quite the feeling. I鈥檓 really looking forward to that.鈥�
