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South Lake Tahoe’s Bijou Bike Park shaping up

Jack Barnwell
jbarnwell@tahoedailytribune.com
City crews move dirt to help form the Bijou Bike Park at Bijou Community Park on Al Tahoe Boulevard Monday afternoon. The project, which has been four years in the making, broke ground on July 15.
Jack Barnwell / Tahoe Daily Tribune |

Bulldozers pushed vast piles of dirt at Bijou Community Park in South Lake Tahoe Monday, shaping it according to the master plan for the new bicycle park.

Work crews broke ground on July 15, eight weeks after the contract was awarded to Alex Fowler Elite Trax/PumpTrax USA for construction oversight and design. Fowler’s company designed the 2008 and 2012 Olympic BMX tracks and is currently building the 2016 Olympic track in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“The project consists of various compacted dirt courses/features and hardscape areas, and has been designed to include two pump tracks, a BMX race track, kids learning zone, and a terrain park within approximately five undeveloped acres of the Bijou Park area,” Tracy Franklin, South Lake Tahoe spokeswoman, said via email Monday.



South Lake Tahoe work crews are doing the heavy lifting.

Franklin said the bike park is a joint effort between the city of South Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association and South Lake Tahoe BMX Association.



“We’re very excited about it,” said Ben Fish, TAMBA’s president, on Monday. “It will provide a great venue that’s centrally located and easy to access.”

TAMBA pitched the concept back in 2011, but efforts stalled in 2012 while the city completed its Recreation Master Plan. Fish and Design Workshop drew up plans, pulled permits free of cost.

Fish said the project has raised $15,000, while the city has put in $200,000 for the project.

While the timeline estimates the park will be open at the end of August, Fish said it may take a little longer because some equipment has to be manufactured off-site and shipped to South Lake Tahoe.

Once the bike park is completed, Fish said maintenance will be a shared responsibility between the city and volunteers.

“We’ll be relying heavily on volunteers,” Fish said. He added the project continues to seek grants and donations for future maintenance needs.


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