Update on the Saint John Skate Park and BMX in Shamrock Park
*** Update ***
**** Ethan, a local urban biker, took the intiative to follow up with Recreation and Leisure Services staff about the time, date and place of the public meeting and learned this:
“ It will be held on December 10th, 7pm, at the North End Community Centre and will include the plans for the BMX park. ”
Google Map to meeting location - click here
I’m very curious to see what they came up with for a preliminary design. I hope alot of bikers turn out to give input on the plans. *****
Responding to my email the President of the Fundy Skateboard Association the new Skate Park (actually a Plaza) will not allow any bicycles at all, citing safety and risk of damage. My concern was not to defend bikers as much as informing the public at large where this is a public facility and will be visited by people from outside of the city, as well. I hope no skaters and bikers clash over this because of the lack of communication.
I received an email from Bernie Morrison today regarding “a request to construct a four skills level BMX park in Shamrock Park for next summer. The preliminary designs have been completed and will be presented in an upcoming public meeting. “
Interesting. This is the first I’ve heard of this, but I haven’t been keeping up on the Recreation and Leisure scene for a while.
hurry up and build it
Nick to get something like this designed and built properly there needs to some involvement of the biking community. Myself, I’m going to try to get on the steering committee for the BMX Park, if one exists. You? Well maybe you can think about what a BMX Park means to you and tell them at “upcoming” public meeting. Maybe you can do more.
Is this a joke? We aren’t allowed in a skatepark that OUR X-FESTS helped pay for? Total B.S.
If we don’t get our own park I will be severely ticked.
Anyways, for our park we will need quarters, stairs, jumps, step ups, and preferably an indoor foam pit. Were will this “meeting” be held?
The fact that the Fundy Skateboard Association is against bikes in the park is not a joke. As for a BMX park, I don’t know what’s been done so far that’s why I’m trying to get more info to inform the urban bikers and bmx’ers. All I know is that the proposed site is Shamrock Park.
I don’t know when or where the meeting will be held but I was told by the Commissioner of Recreation that I will be inform. When I find out I’ll post it here and email everyone I know to get the word out.
Take this BMX poll that I just made. Send the link to other riders as well.
http://steambike.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/bmx-park-poll/
is this organised by bike works cus its on there site and we need park and dj. A park with box jumps and qharters that you can with A big platform at the top so you can jump on. and dirt jumps like the ex fest plus some step ups
that you can jump *
quarters *
and A foam pit would be fun
No Jason, I look after the bike works blog so I posted it there to get the word out. The public meeting looks like it’ll be late this month. Is it ok to email you with the date and location and other BMX park details as they are made known to me?
This will be gnarly. Do we have to do any fund raising? Why is the city being so generous..?
No Fundraising required yet. Shamrock Park was used by Emera Brunswick Pipelines as a laydown area for the Natural Gas pipeline project. So use of the park was limited during the spring and summer and I believe that there is some compensation money payable because of this. Plus the city knows the original plans for the “skatepark” included bikers and that, in the end, did not happen and they were excluded. Finally, recreation for youth is important to Saint John and it’s starting to be recognized that we need facilities to make it happen.
Very much agreed. Do you have a pinkbike account? I’ll be making a thread on there for said people to vote. Give it more publicity.
Sam I don’t have a pink bike account but you can start a thread regarding a bike park proposed for Shamrock Park and refer to “a request to construct a four skills level BMX park in Shamrock Park for next summer. The preliminary designs have been completed and will be presented in an upcoming public meeting. “ from Commissioner Bernie Morrison. The date of the public meeting will be forthcoming.
Sounds good, thanks.
yes you can email me and this all sounds great
Joe, do you know exactly when this meeting is going on? (which town hall, time, date, etc…)
All I know right now is that it’ll be in the last week of this month, somewhere. Because City budget deliberations will be coming up soon it really has to happen soon and I’ll follow up next week with the Commissioner to get the date and location. Once I do I’ll email it, post it, blog it and poster it as much as I can.
do they have a plan for what there gonna build ?
They have a “preliminary” design and that’s what we’ll see later this month. Some riders want to see dirt, some like street and park elements and some like me want to see a well rounded bike park for local bikers and also one that will draw people to the city ($$$ hotel, motel stays, restaurants, bike shop stops $$$ etc)
if we can get like park, dj, street, and maibe a litle pump track that would be well rounded out
so where in shamrockperk will this be located
we’ll find out in a few weeks.
im very interested in helping to get a bmx park going in saint john so if you could email me the time and location for the meeting and all info possible i would be happy to get the word out i know allot of bikers and have a pink bike account and i have already put an add on kijiji to let people now there is a possibility. my brother helped a lot with the skate park by filming and producing the ” get on bored” skate video to fundraise for the skate park. so i would like to be the one to be a big help in the bmx park. let me know thanks
Travis I’ll email you once I know the details of the public meeting. The main thing you can do is what you’re already doing, getting the word out. The more bikers giving feedback to the preliminary design the better the final plan will be. Also, the more people interested in using the park, the more likely it will make it through the City Budget deliberations.
im interested to see how this will turn out. if there is a meeting get your friends there!
finally saint john is keeping up with the surrounding cities for fun and recreational services I race all summer on the bmx track up in moncton I rode the skate parks when we went on trips. i have a sponsership from darlings island bike shop I would really like to help with the 4 level bmx park. its great we are getting one i was wondering if i could get an email with the time and location of the meeting.Ive talked to my friends and so far we have a really good turn out coming for the meeting. word of mouth travels fast!thanks joe and could you get back to me with some deatails
No problem Benjamin, you’ll get an email from me with the details.
due to the pipe line tearing through rock wood this year and all the sports feilds” the pipeline people have to compensate with this so we get all the money we want
Ethan, a local biker and shop employee, took the intiative to follow up with Recreation and Leisure Services staff about the time, date and place of the public meeting and learned this:
“ It will be held on December 10th, 7pm, at the North End Community Centre and will include the plans for the BMX park. ”
are they making it for sure?!