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The Plainfield Bike Park
The Agreement
The Plainfield Township Park District (PTPD) and the Chicago Area Mountain Bikers - West Chapter (CAMBr West) have signed an agreement to build a new sporting facility unique to the Chicagoland area. The Plainfield Bike Park is a free public park that provides a training ground for the Olympic sports of BMX racing, mountain bike racing, and freestyle competitions like the X-Games. Similar to a skatepark but made of dirt, the bike park is designed for riders of all ages and skill levels with sections ranging from beginner to expert. The park will also provide a location for competitions, exhibition riding, and instructional classes.The PTPD agreed to provide Van Horn Park East as the location. CAMBr West agreed raise 100% of the funding and to organize volunteer work days to build the park. The park is being financed by grants, donations and fundraising efforts with the construction to be completed by CAMBr members and volunteers. With the agreement in place efforts are now focused on preparing for groundbreaking and the construction process. CAMBr is looking for volunteers to assist with the construction process at supervised work days.
The Need
Freestyle biking opportunities have always been sparse in the Metropolitan Chicago area. The year 2007 brought closures of top riding destinations like Challenge Park in Joliet, IL and Scrap Skatepark in Hoffman Estates, IL. Losing two of the best riding spots in Chicagoland have left the vast number of freestyle bmxers and mountain bikers with even fewer riding opportunities. Most local skateparks do not allow bikes and the few that do are small and over crowded. These conditions leave riders few options and lead to increases in unauthorized dirt jump building, riding in unauthorized areas, and possibly even tickets or arrests for trying to have fun on their bike.CAMBr West hopes the Plainfield Bike Park will serve as a model to other land managers for building cheap recreational facilities on underutilized land. The Plainfield Bike Park offers all of the benefits of a skatepark at a much lower cost.
The Funds
CAMBr West has received donations from the Bikes Belong Grant, the Kona/IMBA Freeride Grant, the R.E.I. Gives Grant, Trek Bicycles, Cycle and Sports bike shop, Pedal and Spoke bike shop, and Bicycle Paper Designs for the funding to build the park. Local Vendors are donating food and refreshments for volunteer workers on scheduled work days.Sponsorship opportunities are still available in exchange for donations of dirt, clay, tools, dirt moving machinery, food, beverages, or financial contributions. All donations are tax deductible as CAMBr West is a 501c3 non-profit organization.