Parks Commission Holds Public Hearing for Springside Pump Track
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Nearly 40 residents attended Thursday's public hearing for the proposed pump track at Springside Park, presenting passionate arguments both in favor and in opposition to the project.
Before the meeting, the Parks Commission and project representatives visited the site with community members to give an overview of the bike skills park design.
"From the onset, there's been a great amount of support generated from the community, at one point 75-plus emails were sent in a very short span of time," Chairman Anthony DeMartino said. "There's also been a great deal of information about Springside Park's history, it's not just history, but it's natural history."
In January, the commission approved the location and concept for a pump track and bike skills park —which is a continuous loop of contoured and groomed riding surfaces — northeast of the north playground behind Reid Middle School.
The project is being proposed by the Berkshire chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association and is being designed by Powder Horn Trail Co. Fundraising for the project is being done by NEMBA independently from the city or park.
Berkshire NEMBA has also pledged to be responsible for the maintenance of the track.
Nineteen people voiced their opinions about the pump track for almost an hour and a half. About half of the speakers were in support of the proposal and about half opposed.
Those in opposition argue that the pump track will disrupt Springside Park's natural habitat and are asking that it be placed in a different location. A long list of locations was considered for the facility but Springside was chosen because it's in an accessible location for low-income families and the area is already being used for mountain biking.
The Parks Commission has expressed concerns with the pump track's location, size, and maintenance in the long term. At the walkthrough before the meeting, it was determined that there could be a possible other location south of where the proposed site is adjacent to an existing baseball field.
Project representative Alison McGee spoke on the importance of the bike skills park itself and its importance in Springside Park. Being a special education teacher and a former foster parent, she said that there are multiple factors that can prevent a child's ability to interact with nature including trauma and lack of resources.
"When I found out that the students because of their lack of access don't know how to interact with the environment it broke my heart," she said.
"When you have low-income families when you have children who have experienced trauma, and you have people who don't have any resources you have to bring the resources to them, they will not go out and discover it themselves."
McGee said if people want the future generations to cherish Springside Park as people have in the past, they need to be taught to interact with nature. This means that even families without sprawling yards have access to outdoor recreation without needing a car to get there.
"I'm trying my best effort to represent the people who might not show up to these meetings, who might not be able to read the presentations that you've been given," she said. "They need experiences that bring them to a world that's different than what they've experienced."
Powder Horn Trail owner Will Conroy spoke on his dedication to preserving the environment around his facilities.
"Throughout this whole design and building process I want to just do my best to make sure that we present the highest quality product that's integrated with the natural environment that's the least amount of damage," he said.
"I've worked with towns and municipalities throughout Vermont, New England, many of whom are very conservation-minded, and we've gone through a lot of processes and talked to a lot of people to make sure that we're doing the least amount of impact in our construction processes, and also designing our facilities in a way that interferes the least amount with wetlands that might be nearby or any type of road."
Members of Shire Shredders youth/young adult mountain bike team also attended in support of the pump track. They referenced the number of friends that mountain biking has brought into their lives and the importance that this facility has to them.
Resident Mark Miller brought up concerns about mountain bikers "taking over" Springside Park.
"If mountain biking is the growing pastime that the industry says it is, this means essentially, a takeover to Springside Park by mountain bikers," he said. "They're going to be all over the place in that park ... this is one way that biking differs from baseball, softball and basketball spaces at Springside, they don't expand throughout the park they stay right where they are."
Former Parks Commissioner Gene Nadeau in April submitted a petition requesting to put a hold on the current proposal, which was co-signed by Joseph Koprek, Elizabeth Kulas, and Royal Hartigan among others.
All of the petitioners were present at the meeting to voice opposition to the location of the track.
Kulas said the park should be a horticultural interest and left in its natural state. She identified Springside as a wetland and asked the commission to honor wetland laws and not allow development in the park.
Nadeau made it clear that he is not against a pump track in the city, but sees this as a "foot in the door" proposal that will lead to a takeover of the park. He also found an issue in the fact that the proposed size has increased from one acre to one and a half acres.
"I really think we could look into other sites," resident Greg Maichack said. "I just want to say that it is one of the more, I think it's one of the most beautiful places I've seen, I would never want to see this place altered, especially if there are other sites to have it in."
The Parks Commission will have another meeting later this month where the final design will be reviewed and more discussion will ensue.
Tags: bicycling, parks commission, Springside Park,
