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The Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance is pumping the brakes on the opening day of a first-of-its-kind park in the city, after they say a rainy summer got in the way of its construction.
The Edmonton Bike Park was supposed to open Sept. 5 – that was the revised date when an initial July 25 opening was postponed.
Jesse Soneff, the Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance’s construction manager, said the volunteers building the park were met with non-stop rain this spring and summer, meaning little progress was made.
“We’d have people come in and we would just be trying to mitigate how much damage was occurring — you know, redirecting water, digging trenches, running pumps,” he told CBC News on Friday.
“If we were lucky, we’d get an hour or two in at the end of the day where we could actually make progress.”
Soneff said he estimates that in the month of June, the non-profit was only able to squeeze in about two days of construction work at the space.
“We’ve made more progress in the last three weeks than basically even from May,” he said.
By the end of July, Edmonton had already logged more than 500 millimetres of rain, making it the city’s wettest summer on record. The previous rainfall record was 417.1 millimetres in 1953.
And it’s not just the weather that’s postponed the opening, according to Joe Yurkovich, president of the Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance.
“We’ve also had some people unfortunately accessing the jump lines illegally and that has caused some damage,” he said.
“Hopefully people will understand that riding … and using motorized vehicles on these trails really isn’t in anyone’s best interest.”
The space is located in Queen Elizabeth Park on the site of a former wastewater treatment plant.
The group says it estimates construction costs will end up being $1.2 million, and explained that those funds have been collected through donations and grants.
The Edmonton Bike Park has been under construction for around five years. (Jamie McCannell/CBC)
The park was initially met with opposition from conservationists, who argued the site should be left untouched so it can return to its natural state.
The Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance promised to work with conservation groups to protect the environment.
Yurkovich explained why he believes the project is important, saying it brings the community together, and gives people options to try out a bike skills park without having to drive too far.
“It’s a nuisance not to be able to open this year,” he said. “But I think it’s all for the best and I think everyone understands it’s for the best.”
While no official opening date has been set, Yurkovich said he estimates the park will be ready by spring 2027.
However, he’s hoping people can practise some of their biking chops in some parts of the park as early as October.