The Bike Yard will be an urban bike park that is integrated into the existing Welcome Park in the Carillon neighborhood that should offer a pump track, jump lines, single-track trails, flow trails and skills features, Vincent said.
The project has been discussed since at least 2016.
Several years ago, the city approved selling a decommissioned part of Welcome Park to Bonbright Distributors for $135,000.
The sale was to support the company’s future expansion plans while also providing funding to upgrade the park.
Welcome Park will remain a neighborhood park with a park shelter, traditional playground, basketball courts and a community gathering area, Vincent said.
The city of Dayton Bike Yard project included updates to the park, like a new playground and renovated bathrooms and basketball courts, Vincent said.
The park upgrades have been completed, she said, and the city also added a multi-use perimeter trail in 2019.
The park will receive a new bicycle playground this spring, which will be paid for using grant funds and the proceeds of the sale of adjacent land to Bonbright, city staff said.
The next proposed phase of work is construction of the pump track, but that, like the other planned bike features, will require additional fundraising, Vincent said.
The Bike Yard is supported by the neighborhood and the city’s partners, which include the Miami Valley Mountain Bike Association, she said.
The bike park would be a welcome addition and asset for the neighborhood, said Brock Anderson III, the chairman and CEO of Bonbright Distributors.
The park wasn’t heavily used after falling into disrepair, but already the new perimeter trail has proven to be quite popular and new bike features would be a significant draw, he said.
“I think that doing it in stages is better than nothing at all and each stage gets them closer to the overall vision they had,” he said. “It’s a slow trickle, but I think when all is said and done it is going to be fantastic.”
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