Bolm Park Vision Plan Adopted
On Monday November 25, 2024, the Parks Board voted in favor of a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt the Final Draft Vision Plan for Bolm District Park. The park is intended to serve all the residents in that area, so a variety of activities and amenities were included. We were happy that Bike Park facilities were included as well, after the groundswell of support we helped channel over the last year.
The Board first invited comment…
Robin Stallings, Executive Director, Bike Texas, described his organization’s long history working with federal, state and local governments and mentioned their headquarters is two miles from the park.
Ariel Marlowe, Ride Leader, Black History Bike Ride Austin, spoke about the importance of community and meeting spaces for bicycle culture and how that serves their educational mission.
Nick Hill, Treasurer, Yellow Bike Project, described the hundreds if not thousands of free bikes that YBP has given to East Austin in particular as well as the bike mechanics educational component offered to the community.
David Comer, President, Violet Crown Cycling, described how their events bring families and kids together to enjoy bikes in parks and how this space could be an outstanding addition to East Austin.
How did we get here, and why Bolm?
In 2019, Garett Gray mobilized a lot of the BMX and MTB communities to participate in the Master Planning for the John Trevino Metropolitan Park in East Austin. Although some discussion of bike and skate facilities ended up being included in the final document, they were not prioritized. Also, we heard informally that the Trevino family and other stakeholders were more in favor of nature preserve concepts and not enamored with some of the skate and bike park concepts. From that point forward, we started looking at Bolm District Park, waiting for its vision planning process to start. When it did, we were ready. Unlike Trevino, Bolm is post-industrial and it did not have preservationist credentials—therefore, a ground-up build with would be much more possible.
Garett Gray and I created the Friends of Bolm District Park Facebook group to create a forum for posting ideas and developing a contact list. Garett used his many connections with Best Side Trails to rally folks as well. Dale Daugherty’s popping graphics and posts for Austin Ridge Riders’ social media, along with Brooks Lawson’s Facebook group Austin Mountain Biking helped get word out about the public input meetings. (After COVID, the City’s community input meetings went mostly online, which helped more people participate, although the in-person turnout at Trevino had been substantial as well).
Through it all, we had to assure the City and neighborhood groups that we were fine with other activities and uses of the park as long as bike facilities were included as well. Parks Departments have to manage many competing interest groups, and we knew that cooperation was key.
During the year of public input, Austin Ridge Riders provided extensive detailed information about bike parks in other cities to the City’s consultant and sought input from several professionals, including civil engineer Marty Christman, landscape architect Eric Marshall, and aerial photographer Russell Thomman to provide additional technical input.
The next phases of effort will be directed towards City Council approval; participation in the City’s bond election process to try get Bolm prioritized. It’ll be a long road. In the meantime, we’ll still be working on the trails we all ride every day.
Thanks everyone!!
Cullen
Members of the cycling community and local cycling organizations spoke at the Parks Board meeting on November 25, 2024. From L to R: Dale Daugherty, Ariel Marlowe, David Comer, Robin Stallings, Cullen McMorrow, Charlie Riou, Nick Hill
On Monday November 25, 2024, the Parks Board voted in favor of a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt the Final Draft Vision Plan for Bolm District Park.