BMX Track
murwillumbah bmx track
The Murwillumbah BMX track has been a feature since the 80’s and still exists despite being a shadow of its former glory. The track once hosted local and regional rounds of BMX competition and was a developing ground for future national and international level riders such as Bruce Morris.
The tracks popularity waned as a competition venue and endured small redevelopments and line adjustments, more to mitigate water pooling. However it has seen continued use and community support that has thus far kept it from becoming an off leash dog park. The track is one of the few “off road” cycling areas that the local high school cycling clubs can use for skills development and training.
But what could it be?
in 2018 the Tweed Valley Mountain Bike Riders presented the Tweed Shire Council a vision as to what they would like to see happen to the current BMX track location.
But why Did they?
Open Spaces Strategy Draft 2018:
Improved community Health and wellbeing is a key social aim in the development of local recreation facilities, The Murwillumbah BMX track is stated as one of the youth recreation facilities and is acknowledged that it is not “fit for purpose. The BMX track facility also features in the TSC Youth Strategy 2013 as a key youth asset, yet is currently in operatable.
The park is also a key opportunity for the supply of a neighbourhood park that would be accessible by the local community if activated in what is a lower socio economic part of town. The proposal to rehabilitate the BMX track would open the space to more youth activities that are low cost, accessible and do not require a club structure for participation.
Youth Recreation:
According to the 2016 consensus the population of Murwillumbah is 10,285 people. yes the aged are our “fastest’ growing population but still only account for a population of 2321 or 22.5% of the population. Yet the 0 – 19 age group account for 24.7% of the resident population. More importantly Murwillumbah is a youth centre due to the proportion of schools in the town.
As per NSW enrolment stats in 2018 there were a total of 2996 primary and high school children attending Murwillumbah Schools – that’s 29% of the population. Where can they recreate ? Knox Park only? We need more options for our kids to recreate without having to pull on a jersey, pay an entry fee or join a club.
Community Cycling Facility Situation:
Currently there is a lack of cycling opportunities in the Tweed LGA. The only paved cycle routes suitable for children learning to ride would be the paths through Knox park or the excellent network of cycleways along the coastal areas connecting Kingscliff to Pottsville. For parents wishing their children a cycling experience without cars the only viable option is to travel by car from Murwillumbah to the coastal regions.
The Skate park redevelopment within Knox Park does cater for a very small percentage of cyclists with the advanced skill set to tackle these features. Unfortunately the feature is still not considered ideal due to the “tight” nature of the features primarily designed for Skate boards and in turn scooters.
The nearest suitable skate parks for bicycles are Mullumbimby, Cabarita, Tweed Heads and Coolangatta, all too far for kids to ride to, and there is no suitable public transport. The nearest suitable BMX track or jumps are located at Burleigh Heads, Coolangatta and Nerang, again facing similar access issues for local riders.
Nature of the Riding Market.
BMX gained popularity in the 1970’s through to the early 1990’s as a competitive sport with it now being a Olympic sport and Australia continuing to represent at the highest levels with great success. The nature of BMX racing has become such that it is now considered an elite sport representing the best in class and is not as “grass roots” and developmental as it was in the 1980’s.
BMX tracks are now designed to international race standards with much more advanced jump lines with hard surface and more speed and risk required. As a result it is out of the vision of many developing riders.
The cycling market has also shifted to more “freeride” and “dirt jump“ skill sets where riders develop tricks rather than outright speed.
As a reflection of this change in riding styles council are now developing more “approachable” trail features with the ability for riders to progress styles and develop skills without the need for entering
competitions or club at atmosphere.
This has been evidenced by the popularisation of “pump tracks” and “dirt jump” lines throughout Australia and internationally. Local examples of these can be found at Nerang, Southport, Burleigh Heads and Upper Coomera.
Pump Tracks:
A pump track is a loop with dirt berms and mounds designed for the bike to maintain speed without the rider pedalling. As well as recreational and fitness uses, pump tracks can be used for practicing balance, learning skills and improving confidence on a bike. A well designed pump track is considered accessible for beginner riders, all the way through to elite, with riders being able to use different combinations in the track as their skills develop.
A Pump track differs to a BMX track in that none of the features require both or even one wheel to leave the ground in order to safely navigate the course. The nature of a pump track is that speed is gained by keeping wheels on the ground. The skill set required to be proficient round a pump track is the beginner skill required to be able to progress to “jumping” in the future.
Pump tracks are unlimited in their design and are well suited to smaller spaces unlike competition style BMX tracks. Typically pump tracks have been of “compacted dirt” construction, but more recent developments have seen the use of asphalt surfacing to not only increase the life span of the trail by reducing yearly maintenance costs, but additionally expanding the use opportunity to scooters and skateboards.
Dirt Jump Lines:
Dirt Jump Lines are a natural progression from riding a pump track. A dirt jump line will involve a higher level of skill required and getting both wheels off the ground to achieve the most from the installation. Modern dirt jump design typically fill the “gap” between the takeoff and landing ramp to ensure ride-ability and a margin for safety.
This is not always the case, as with the Willoughby Council redevelopment of the popular Castle Cove dirt jumps where steel and wooden “launch ramps” were installed with significant gaps. This actually improved safety as less skilled riders were able to identify the risk and not attempt. There was also provision in the location for “development” jumps for riders to build their skills safely.
Dirt jumps in their simplest form are a single row of jumps with riders progressively building speed for the next “bigger” jump. In the most complex form they can combine different lines and features to make for entire parks of jumps and combinations such as Queenstown bike park pictured below.
But What Fits the Murwillumbah BMX Track Site?
Given the available area of approximately 85 metres square we believe there is ample room for a pump track and Dirt jump line to be
installed whilst being able to create different “zones” for rider skill levels and family interactions.
There is a natural “barrier” between the more advanced rider areas of the flood wall which makes for good parental viewing platforms as it gives views to both sides of the total area. The playground and kids cycle track could be easily fenced from the road and has best access to carparking and highest visibility for community recognition.
The more advanced skill areas such as the pump track, half pipe and dirt jump line get harder the further away from the “family” zones as you progress. This area would best be fenced off to create a secondary barrier to non-skilled entry.
The current BMX area could fit the combination of a dirt jump line, Pump track and rehabilitation of the half pipe. The area could be fenced off easily and unobtrusively to maintain safety for all users (both advanced and not) through use of similar fencing and gates as shown at Burleigh Heads jump area which also features a nearby playground.
The design of both the pump track area and jump line can easily accommodate water run off solutions to minimise water pooling after rain and flood events and ensure efficient drainage.
So Your still interested? This has already been presented to tweed Shire Council and like every community project it requires YOUR voice to tell council it is wanted and needed. Contact recreatetweed@hotmail.com for some ideas as to how to push this forward and share this page to your friends. its only going to happen if enough people want it.
Any ideas to improve it? We would welcome some feedback and critique, even if your against it, we still want to hear.
Thanks for hanging in this far!
@recreatetweed