Sporting his bike helmet, Tuff Riders President Greg Weiss voices his support for the proposed bike park on North Mesa during the Oct. 7 Los Alamos County Council meeting. Screenshot/LAC

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

A crowd of people, many wearing bike helmets, filed into Los Alamos County Council Chambers Oct. 7, to support the proposed bike park on North Mesa.

Council heard a presentation by Bike Park Working Group members Kyle Dickman and Nathan Maier, who urged pursuing the bike park. The council did not act on the proposal during the meeting.

Parks and Recreation Board Vice Chair Jerry Cowan provided some background on the working group.
He explained that the working group was tasked with finding viable locations for the bike park and that the North Mesa property, located off San Ildefonso Road, is the preferred site. While a contractor, Site Southwest, worked on a master plan for the property, it only assigned three acres for the park, and the preference is five.

“Despite that, the bike park working group remains committed to pursuing their dream of a bike park that will be a treasured asset to this community and a destination for bike riders from neighboring communities,” Cowan said.

Maier explained the working group started a year ago with several goals:

• Outline community benefits and requirements for a bike park,
• Assess pros and cons of locations,
• Gage community sentiment, and
• Demonstrate community support.

Maier provided a definition of a bike park: a purpose-built facility for bicycles of all types and riders of all skills and ages.

To determine what is needed for the park, Dickman said the working group reached out to trail building companies, and it was determined that 1.5 acres are needed for a pump track or paved track, and the entire park should be five acres. It is expected to cost between $500,000 and $800,000.

Maier said there are resources available to help assist with the costs. Nonprofit organizations offer matching grants, and the state makes funds available through its trail accelerator program.

Four sites were evaluated for the park, Dickman said. The criteria included zoning, access, existing infrastructure and potential conflicts such as other users. From there, the sites were narrowed to two: North Mesa and Overlook Park.

After conducting a bike survey in collaboration with Los Alamos Places and Spaces, Maier said 85 percent of the 272 survey participants rated North Mesa the best.

He added that there has been a push to develop North Mesa recreationally. To determine the best course, Maier noted that there has been a listening session, a planning workshop and an open house.

“Why do we think North Mesa is the right place for a bike park … the reasons are it is properly zoned, so it is relatively quick to get done, the ease of access, to me, is the most important thing,” Dickman said. “This is very close to the middle school … among members of the recreational community, the middle school is thought of as an underserved population so this is a chance to put in infrastructure that is peddling distance from the school so kids can just ride their bikes down there once they are done with school and go have a time off screens, outside, getting exercise. Additional things, existing parking and restroom facilities, it is an undeveloped space, it is the right size, has the right slope and it is actually connected to existing trails.”

Plus, a bike park is needed in Los Alamos, Maier said.

“Los Alamos has a very long history of mountain biking … Los Alamos has been on it since the very beginning,” he said.

Dickman also emphasized that the park would be beneficial to children and novice bike riders.

“Los Alamos is known for its world-class trails … but they are also really difficult trails,” he said. “So, one of the hard things about bringing people into this sport is getting them to practice in an area that is basically safe and not filled with rocks, drops and all these features that can be kind of off-putting to beginners. So we think a bike park is really kind of the ideal place where we can bring people into the community and progress those skills in kind of a safe manner … speaking of skill development, skill development is really part of any sport … you need a place that is going to have the infrastructure to be able to progress in a safe manner and keep interest.”

Dickman further noted that Los Alamos was labeled as among the top 10 heathiest communities in the U.S., according to the 2024 U.S. News and World Report. The bike park could be “another thing that makes Los Alamos such a wonderful place to live,” he said.

Having this amenity would also fit into the County’s strategic goals, Maier added.
This isn’t the first time North Mesa has been considered for some type of bike recreational project. Councilor Ryn Herrmann wondered about the proposed BMX track.

Los Alamos County Community Services Department Director Cory Styron said the BMX track started as a volunteer project that the County provided some funds to. Then, liability concerns were raised, and COVID halted the project. Attempts to resurrect it revealed that the price had risen dramatically and there was minimal community support, he added.

There are a variety of recreational users and perspectives to consider for North Mesa, Styron said, noting that everything is conceptual right now and future conversations will be held.

“I think it is really important to remember that we had equestrians, as part of this North Mesa process, we have a group of people who want to see an indoor space for either roller derby or basketball, there is a group of people advocating for open space, and how we could create some pockets for open space …,” Styron said. “There were a group of people who wanted to enhance existing track systems … you’ll hear the diversity of the wants for that area … but I think some of those elements … those are some conversations we have to have – is there a tradeoff …”

Councilor Randall Ryti commented that he hoped this time would be the charm and something would get done.

“I just hope we can actually do something this time … that’s why I was happy there was going to be a bike park working group,” he said.

The public weighed in on the issue.
Speaking for equestrians and the stable owners, Lisa Reader commended the efforts for public outreach.

“We support the idea of a bike park on North Mesa,” she said.

Tuff Riders President Greg Weiss said, “As far as the bike park, this would be a great addition to the County park and recreation features to give kids after school a place to go … as well as develop basic skills.”

Perhaps the strongest endorsement came from one of the target demographics for the park – the youth.

Three kids came to the podium, and each declared, “I support a bike park!”

Map showing two options in yellow where proposed bike park could be located on North Mesa. Courtesy/LAC