PORT ANGELES — Preliminary site work is nearing completion at the Erickson Playfield Pump Track, and volunteers are sought for the next portion of the project: asphalt installation set for May 25 through June 1.
The city of Port Angeles Parks & Recreation and the Lincoln Park BMX Association have partnered to bring a pump track, a rolling series of looping paths that offer a way for kids and adults to build bicycling skills in a contained environment away from traffic, to the site in central Port Angeles.
The idea of a pump track is to build enough momentum to slingshot through the turns and fly over the hills so you don’t have to pedal.
No special equipment is needed to ride — just a bike, scooter or skateboard and helmet.
An Americans with Disabilities Act-approved loop will provide opportunities for manual and electric wheelchair riders or younger kids who aren’t ready to use the larger track.
This portion of the project is labor intensive and will require volunteers ages 16 and older to move wheelbarrows of approximately 250 pounds, according to Parks & Recreation.
No children will be allowed at the construction site.
Volunteers should bring their own gloves and work boots.
To sign up to volunteer, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-PumpTrack.
An additional volunteer opportunity in June will be offered once asphalt installation is complete.
The pump track is funded by a $350,000 grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office, $100,000 in lodging tax grants from the city and Clallam County, business sponsorships, individual and community donations and a grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
A pump track also was installed by Top Left Trails Coop volunteers at the Colville Mountain Bike Skills Park west of Port Angeles off Dan Kelly Road in 2019.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at mcarman@peninsuladaily news.com.
Port Angeles Parks & Recreation An illustration shows what the finished Erickson Playfield Pump Track will look like upon completion.
