Seattle, Washington: Colonnade Park Redefines Urban Mountain Biking
Mountain biking in urban areas can be a bit of a quagmire. For starters, there's little dirt in the urban jungle. There are heaps of people, making access contentious, or even non-existent. And generally, most urban mountain biking consists of driving to a park on the outskirts of town, near suburbia - which makes it questionable if the riding is even urban. The true urban landscape is home to dilapidated baseball fields, hoop courts with chain link baskets and an occasional fitness club scattered about. Quality dirt singletrack in most cities is about as common as a diamond mine in Mississippi.
Enter Colonnade Park, and Seattle's ultra advocacy group the Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club, hell bent on redefining exactly what urban riding is. We'll preclude this story by stating this trail system has not been built yet. However, the vision, creative thinking and the potential for success needs to shared and emulated.
The BBTC website describes Colonnade Park like this: "Imagine a place where you can hop on your bike and ride technical mountain bike trails through towering columns, with beautiful views of the lake and mountains. Now imagine this is a place where it never rains and is right in downtown Seattle. You're not dreaming, this is reality!"
Sounds good, huh? Basically, BBTC has come up with a plan to build a mountain bike and outdoor sports facility directly underneath Interstate 5. According to Webster's Dictionary, a colonnade is: A row of columns esp. supporting a roof. In this case, the colonnades in Colonnade Park are supporting 50-zillion cars driving on elevated interstates, leaving mountain bikers in a surreal, sheltered zone of peace. The auto-transport roof serves another purpose: protection from Seattle's much-hyped rainy weather.
If and when Colonnade Park becomes a reality, BBTC and a group Urban Sparks plan to build and maintain a 2-mile trail winding under the interstate and through the pillars. The area has spectacular views overlooking downtown Seattle, the Puget Sound and the mountains of Olympic National Park. The terrain is steeply sloped, offering great potential for fun, swooping trails with elevation change. BBTC is working on constructing faux rocks, which would simulate natural features found on the trail.
BBTC has been working hard to make Colonnade Park a reality. The club has site designs and blueprints available on its website, including trail layout information. The city is reviewing these documents. The city has signed a lease with the Washington Department of Transportation, and is waiting for ratification by the Seattle City Council. Finally, BBTC has taken a very active role securing funding for the project. BBTC has received grants from REI, Vulcan, Seattle of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund and Bikes Belong. The group recently received a $48,000 Youth Facilities Grant from King County.
For more information on this exciting project visit www.bbtc.org
Key Lessons:
- Think creatively when considering new places to ride - especially in urban areas.
- A clear vision will garner support.
