MORGANTOWN — BOPARC and the city of Morgantown will construct a new bike skills course known as a pump track on the land along the Deckers Creek Trail where BOPARC’s Valley Crossing storage building once sat.
The project will be financed through a $250,000 West Virginia Community Advancement and Development Land and Water Conservation Grant administered by the city as well as $250,000 in matching funds provided by BOPARC.
A pump track is a circuit of small, rolling hills, banked turns and other features that allow riders/skaters to use body weight and momentum instead of pedaling to propel themselves forward.
According to the resolution accepting the grant, the facility will include “concrete and asphalt jump lines, skills return, halfpipe, PBR bike features, accessible pathways, seating, bike parking and repair stand.”
The track will be located near a trail head at the bottom of Whitemoore Park.
“We’ve been talking about investing in the trailhead in this area for a long time and with the Valley Crossing building removed, the possibility of adding an additional trail component so close to both downtown and Marilla Park seemed like something worth pursuing,” BOPARC Executive Director Melissa Wiles said. “Then the city approached us with the grant opportunity, and we collaborated.”
Wiles previously said BOPARC had early concept designs for the pump track completed during initial discussions about relocating the skate park in lower Marilla Park.
The project’s timeline is not yet known.