This past weekend was the grand opening of the new BMX/Mountain Bike Dirt Jump Park, centrally located in Vancouver’s Vanier Park, just a few steps away from the beach. This is a project I’ve been working on for the last decade with the Vancouver Dirt Jump Coalition, ever since the dirt jumps at Oak and 37th Ave were torn down when the City of Vancouver redeveloped Oak Meadow Park. With all the work I’ve done with the Vancouver Skateboard Coalition, I’m very aware of how long the process is for these parks, from initial discussions to the ribbon-cutting event. So I’m very glad to be cutting the ribbon and getting this park finished finally.
The guys at Earth Ramp Bike Parks (Facebook page) were brought in to design and build the jumps and pumptrack, and they did a great job. Certainly, the big and intermediate lines are respectful and pretty authentic to what you would find at private trails, including real gap jumps and not just pyramid-style tabletop jumps, which you often see at city-built dirt jump parks.
Located close to transit, a convergence of a few bike paths made this location a perfect choice for this project. We had to work closely with Vanier Park stakeholders such as Bard on the Beach and the Kits Point Residents Association, and once we fully informed them of the size and scope of the project, they were quickly brought on board.
You can also see photos and coverage of the grand opening on the Georgia Straight website and learn more about the project on our Vancouver Dirt Jump Coalition Facebook page. Read more about how the park came to be in a series I wrote for Vancouver is Awesome’s “In the Dirt.”
The CBC interview with myself, Ted Urich (Project manager/Vancouver Park Board staff) and Sarah Blyth (Vancouver Park Board Commissioner) is Embedded below. The interview length is 4:44.
Below is a gallery of images from the grand opening ceremonies as well as pictures of the dirt jump park in progress:
