ARTICLE - Jump Park

Brief Overview:

In November of 2002, David Waugh, an eighth-grader at Assumption Catholic School, fired off an e-mail to Mayor Mark Asmundson, saying that Bellingham needed a place for dirt-jumping enthusiasts to go.

Seven months later the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board approved a plan to turn an area on Puget Street north of the Bellingham Skate Park into a community dirt jump park. Volunteers from the WHIMPs, Western Washington University Cycling Club, and other community members have agreed to put in whatever grunt work is required to complete this project. Freeland & Associates have prepared a site plan which has been approved and will see the project through to completion and RAM Construction will be donating hours of heavy machinery work to prepare the jumps.

(Some information taken from published article: Fiona Cohen, The Bellingham Herald)

April 26, 2004 Update: - From City of Bellingham

I know a lot of you have been wondering when the bike jump park at Civic is going to start. Here is the latest:

Mark Salsbury from Granite Concrete has volunteered to relocate the concrete bulk storage bins for the City. The bins were placed in their current location by the contractor who built Puget Street through Civic Park about 5 years ago. The Parks Dept is willing to re-locate this storage area to make way for the bike jump park. Since Mark's company makes and hauls the eco-blocks that make up the bulk storage units, he has the equipment to do the job. There are 98 individual blocks and the parks dept could only move one at a time! Mark can move about 1/3 of the blocks at a time. He has indicated he can start this work next week.

Ram Construction has volunteered to move the dirt to actually shape the jumps. Ram is busy working on some other construction projects (that they are actually getting paid for!) Mike Hammes from Ram told me he would have an open window soon to get in and start the work. When he is done moving the major portion of the dirt and shaping the jumps, we will be calling for volunteers to help finish the grading by hand, plant seed or lay sod, and relocate some of the trees that are currently on site.

Although I cannot give you a definite start or completion time, the City and the future users of the park are fortunate that these companies are willing to do the work in their spare time. If this were a city project, we would just now be discussing the budget for the work to occur sometime in 2005. As it is, I think you all will be riding there this summer.

Leslie Bryson

Design and Development Manager
Bellingham Parks and Recreation Dept.
360-676-6985

Quotes:

"Hopefully people respect the park and do not ruin the jumps. The park will reduce illegal building of jumps which are dangerous more than half the time anyway. I also hope that it brings in people of all ages and skill levels, from experts to beginners."
-David Waugh

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