A proposed bike park beneath the north side of the Olgiati Bridge could just be the start of the city’s bike park scene.
That was the vision shared by renowned bike park developer Judd de Vall, of Whister, British Columbia, at a public meeting Monday afternoon at Outdoor Chattanooga in Coolidge Park.
De Vall, the owner of Alpine Bike Parks, was in town to meet with local officials and the public about the proposed bike park project that has outdoor enthusiasts buzzing, even though it is still early in the planning phase.
Noel Durant, Chattanooga Program Director for the Trust for Public Land, talks Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn., about a proposal to build a bicycle park on this two-and-a-half acre space underneath the Olgiati Bridge on the north side of the the Tennessee River. The Tennessee Riverwalk will pass through the site when it is extended from Renaissance Park to Moccasin Bend. “I see this bike park as a regional, trend-setting facility,” de Vall said. “But it’s going to be the starting point, not the ending point. It will be the crown jewel until there is so much demand that it’s overrun and the mothership has to be built.”
De Vall and representatives from the Trust for Public Land met with Tennessee Department of Transportation officials Monday morning to discuss the plan. They met with city officials in the afternoon.