Outdoor enthusiasts may not have much longer to wait for a new facility in east Windsor.
The city's parks development department hosted its second public information session on Wednesday on the design of the proposed pump track, set to go up off of Little River Road in east Riverside. Representatives from the city and the design firm of Canadian Ramp Company were on hand to show off artist renderings of the track layout, along with photographs of the planned site.
Heidi Baillargeon, the city's parks development manager, told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that unlike trails for mountain bikes, this pump track would be open for other uses as well.
"You can use it for all kinds of biking, skating, rollerblading, skateboards, basically it's a designed track used for, I guess, any way you want to in terms of biking sport," said Baillargeon.
The city already has an off-road facility in the Malden Park area, which opened in the fall of 2019. The east side pump track will be in a location right off Little River Road, in what Baillargeon called a convenient location.
"It's just over the Little River, close to the pollution control plant," said Baillargeon. "We have our east end yard. We've kind of decided to locate it here because it is close to our maintenance yard. There's ample parking here as well as access to maintenance if it's needed. It's a very open area, and there's good visibility."
Baillargeon added that the city was looking to place the pump track in an open area to reduce the chances of improper activity taking place there, yet still blend into the natural landscape.
The cost of the pump track itself is around $150,000, in addition to the $500,000 off the off-road trails in Malden Park.
After the city completes the feedback process, the final design will be completed and sent to the city council for approval and tender. The pump track should be operational by the end of 2020.
