Pump Tracks, Trail building and partnerships chart the course ahead for some potential recreation options in Prince Rupert

An outline of a PUMP Track, something a local cycling association
hopes to develop  in Prince Rupert
(All images from Monday's presentation to City Council)

Monday was presentation night at Prince Rupert City Council, with a pair of organizers with the North Coast Mountain Bike Association taking advantage of the Committee of the Whole to share some of their short and long range planning for cycling in the community.

Craig Rimmer and Charles Tree  from the Association provided an enthusiastic and detailed report for Council on some of the plans that they have in mind to build enhancements to the local cycling scene, with the Association currently hosting 180 members and counting in the region.

The presentation provided some examples from a number of other communities across the province and Western Canada both large and small, with an Asphalt Pump Track in Terrace one that has impressed them with the local group hoping to install something similar to it at a location somewhere in the City.

The PUMP track project accounted for the bulk of their near forty minute presentation, the pair providing extensive background on the topic and for the most part answering most of the questions of the Council members before the presentation had reached the Q and A portion of the night.

Towards their project NCMBA members outlined some of the fundraising efforts that they have taken on and the success of that work so far and how they are using that community support as part of their application for grants process.

With a budget set at roughly $200,000, they are currently sitting at 50 percent of reaching their fundraising goal.

They also provided a review of some of the bike trails they would like to develop around the community, partnering with Recreation Sites and Trails BC to expand the footprint of trails in the area, one of their first projects to develop a trail along the area of the cellular tower on the outskirts of the city.

As part of the review, both Mr. Rimmer and Tree observed on how cycling is becoming a key element of tourism and would attract visitors to the community as well as offer a range of benefits to the region.

They also reinforced their desire to be fully funded through grants, donations and volunteer work, which they noted would not provide any burden to the city, as well they update Council on the current level of engagement with City staff.

"We've engaged with city staff we're looking at suitable locations where we might be able to put these, what's viable and what's not and they've been great, they've helped us get to this point and we're super thrilled with that" -- NCMBA on their plans for a PUMP track in the community

The Council members had high praise for the professionalism of their presentation and the wide range of material that they covered from it.

Among the comments and observations from Council, Councillor Mirau had some follow up questions related to their footprint and partnership options with the Kaien Trails group, Councillor Cunningham observed of their fundraising work and the wide spectrum of the community that their projects could attract. 

Towards lending a hand, NCMBA noted of their Facebook page as a good option to contact them if resident wish to get behind their projects.

Councillor Randhawa expressed his enthusiasm towards their project, with Councillor Adey also impressed with the initiative, noting how it would offer some valuable options for youth. Councillor Niesh recounted his own days of bike riding and commended them for their work to try to get their projects moving forward.

For his part the Mayor noted of the commitment of City Staff towards looking for a location and observed that if a city site is selected, that fundraising with a range options require partnerships before awarding of funds. 

Mr. Brain also noted of the upcoming request for a letter of support and how the City could also make note of the project with NDIT and how the City could work with the group to bring the recreation option to life.

"My only thought here is I know after talking with staff, they are definitely committed to working with you on site location. I guess what I would say is that I think we need to figure out that location as soon as possible. If it is going to end up being a city site in the end, I'm sure you probably have other private sites you are looking at as well.  But obviously it's easier when you're dealing with us and I think it's something we want to make happen.  The reason I say that is when it comes to fund raising  particularly with organizations ...  they require partnerships and they want to know if you actually have those things figured out before they offer funds to you. So they're going to want to know that you indeed have site and here's the site with city.   -- Mayor Lee Brain

The Mayor also highlighted how the city could assist the group further in their quest for funding.

"We can definitely do our letter of support tonight with NDIT and I know that we can reach out to NDIT personally ... and let them know that we are actually working with you guys on the site ... I have done this enough now to know they will want some security on that so let's work together and see if something can come to fruition here. Either way ... we all know that this town is in desperate need of revival and new recreation and new access ... and this is the type of on the ground organizing that I think we need in this community"

 

Later in the evening, the City Council members did approve the motion to write a letter of support for the organization in their fundraising hopes with NDIT.

You can take in their presentation from the City's Video Archive page, which is the item which opens the Monday evening video session.

More notes from Monday's Council session can be reviewed from our Council Timeline feature.

You can access more information on the North Coast Mountain Bike Association from their Facebook page.

For more notes on the sport in the Northwest see our archive page.