Plans for a bike park could be getting closer to reality after a recent Fort Collins City Council meeting. On Tuesday, the council held a work session to discuss an update on the bike park feasibility study. The report highlights other bike parks in similar communities and looks at what a bike park could offer for those living in Northern Colorado.
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The work to bring a bike park to Fort Collins has been years in the making with advocates from the Fort Collins Bike Park Collective making a bigger push about a year ago. However, the city council advanced discussions in October 2024 by launching an analysis and feasibility study.
The study is being compiled by city staff, separate from those who are advocating for the park. But supporters are happy to see the process moving forward.
鈥淭he goal of that feasibility study is that it starts to show the specifics of the community's needs and excitement around the bike park possibility,鈥� said Kevin Krause, a member of the Fort Collins Bike Park Collective. 鈥淪o that outcome will be not only presented to council but also to the delegates who have been selected to move forward with the Civic Assembly process around that use as well.鈥�
Krause and other Collective members have worked to create a strong online presence and gain community support. Members often show up in large numbers at city events to voice their backing for the plans and to share with the community what a bike park would offer.
Besides the physical and mental health benefits that Krause highlighted as a positive, advocates have long pushed for the bike park alongside the fact that Fort Collins is known for its bike-ability. The city from the League of American Cyclists. Only four other cities join Fort Collins in the category that is the highest ranking possible. The study looks at initiatives and infrastructure that create safer cities for cyclists.
Boulder, another city with a platinum rating, is highlighted in the feasibility study with mentions of Valmont Bike Park. The report also highlights parks like Denver鈥檚 Ruby Hill Bike Park and Berthoud Bike Park as models for what the Fort Collins park could have.
These parks include bike tracks and amenities for people of all ages and skills.
鈥淭his is something that kids from two to three-years-old on a Strider could use all the way up through, you know, kids in high school and certainly all adults,鈥� said Krause.
Many of these parks include dirt jumps and skills areas for people to train as well as pump tracks, which are essentially bike trails that allow a bike to flow with the ups and downs and twists and turns of the path. The park could be more than dirt, with potential plans for training tracks for road cyclists.
The study goes beyond the excitement of possibilities, emphasizing the importance of safety measures. Like any other outdoor action sport, cycling comes with inherent risks. The report discusses design and signage as the first steps to take to protect visitors to the potential future park.
Bike parks in the study also vary drastically in size from a few acres to more than 40 acres, which is a little less than half of Fort Collins鈥� Spring Canyon Community Park. The variation in numbers led to some questions from council members as far as location during this week鈥檚 work session.
鈥淲hen I think about this too and the draw regionally, I also think economic boom for us and so, this is all the different things that could come into play,鈥� says Councilmember Julie Pignataro. 鈥淪o if it were closer to Old Town, then you get people to come and go to dinner, and so many different things and directions this could go.鈥�
The location has been a point of contention. Much of the negativity comes from concerns that the bike park will take up part of the property that was home to Hughes Stadium. The stadium once housed the Colorado State Rams football team. Discussions around what to do with the property have been up for debate for some time. In 2021, nearly 70% of Fort Collins voters approved a ballot measure to designate the area as open space. However, the debate now centers on its best use with some advocating for recreational activities like cycling, while others support stricter conservation efforts.
While the study does acknowledge the fight over what to do with the land, that has been tabled as a separate discussion. During the council meeting, members thanked staffers working on the feasibility study for drawing a line between the two topics.
Krause and the Collective acknowledge that there is pushback from the Hughes debate but said other possible sites are on the table. The official study from staff said location plans are not finalized and they鈥檙e not ready to disclose all the sites they are considering.
For now, the work around the feasibility study will continue, with a final presentation due in May.
鈥淲e have this phenomenal (biking) community, right? And these types of facilities we鈥檙e just so overdue for and there's been a gap for who we are with our level of cycling love,鈥� said Krause. 鈥淚t's a no-brainer, and it's just a matter of figuring out how to accomplish it within the constraints that exist.鈥�
