The development of the Bike Park at Pohe Island has been progressing rapidly since Christmas. The pump track designed and built by Velosolutions was completed earlier this year and has been a dominant feature visible from Riverside Drive and Dave Culham Drive. Since its completion, there has been a sharp increase in the public interest and desire to be able to access the track. Contractors have been working hard to complete the 800-meter Circuit Track, car park, and asphalt areas in order to allow safe public access and keep vehicles out.
As of the first week of August, the hard-standing paved areas around the park have been completed. Namely the pump track, circuit track, car park, and asphalted areas. Yahoo!
There is still more to come. An area for traffic skills and coaching on the asphalt around the building, a beginner skills area, toilets, and a major facelift for the building including storage are all planned to be completed later this year as funding becomes available. Affected areas will be cordoned off as required to minimise the impact of users of the park and ensure everyone’s health and safety.
The pump track is actually two tracks, an intermediate track for those just starting out on the western side, and a more advanced track with bigger berms for the experts. Both tracks are designed to be ridden in an anticlockwise direction, and riders can connect the two tracks via a route circumnavigating the entire area. Already local clubs are planning summer events, and there is talk of a North Island series with Cambridge, Coromandel, and Mangawhai Pump Tracks.
The Cycle Circuit is 800 meters long and five meters wide, also designed to be ridden in an anti-clockwise direction. A planted earth bund protects riders from the traffic on Dave Culham Drive and assists in making the loop a more pleasurable experience. Local road cycling club Marsden Wheelers are keen to host Criterium races and use the track for regular mid-week training and coaching sessions. Parafed Northland sees the track as a perfect place for their para cyclists to train; tandems, trikes, handcycles, and wheelchairs can all readily access the track. In addition, the proximity to the Hatea loop and Onerahi walkway allows these riders to easily access a greater network of trails.
The car park includes five disability parks which have space on both sides to ensure they can be readily used by all types of disability vehicles. There is also a large drop-off zone for those not planning to stay. Additional parking can be found in the center of William Fraser Memorial Park past the Northland Rugby building, just a few hundred meters from the bike park.
The project has been made possible through funding from Whangarei District Council, Northland Regional Council, and Kanoa – Regional Economic Development Unit. The project has been driven by a partnership between Bike Northland and the Whangarei District Council and local contractors WSP, and United Civil Construction.
