Nick Bratton says he’s been chased by the police on at least 100 different occasions and by security guards at least 300 times.
He’s not a mugger, a drug dealer or a purse snatcher.
He is one of dozens of area BMX stunt bike riders who are tired of being chased off private property while practicing their sport. Bratton and his fellow bikers want the city of Eugene to build a park where BMX riders can ride legally and unhindered.
On Jan. 24, about a dozen BMX riders asked the City Council for the park and received favorable responses. Also, city park planners said they are looking into the project.
“There are a lot of BMX riders here who are really good and ready to turn pro, and they want a place to ride in their hometown,” Bratton said. “I would like to see this resolved in a way that makes BMXers feel welcomed in this city.”
Now, most BMX riders cruise through Eugene looking for handrails and ledges to jump on and slide along with their bikes, but such trips are often ended by encounters with police or security guards.
“We have nowhere else to go, so we just go where we’re not supposed to,” Bratton said.
BMX riders can’t ride on private property. They can’t ride on government-owned land. They can’t ride on the University campus. They can’t ride at either of the two skateboard parks in town.
They can ride on the Emerald Valley BMX track near Alton Baker Park, but that facility was made for racing and not stunt riding.
But a new location might open for BMX riders within two years. Eugene park planners are working toward building a skateboard park in the Bethal area near Meadow View Elementary School. Though the park will be designed for skateboarders, park planners say they would like to see the facility open to bikers.
“We’re going to look at how we can make that facility usable for all users, including BMX freestyle riders,” Parks Planner Robin Hostick said. “We’re talking with the freestyle BMX community to discuss our options.”
But there is one hang-up: An independent report prepared for the city found that BMX riders damage skate parks. According to the report, the five-inch metal pegs BMX riders attach to the hubs of their wheels gouge the ramps and scratch the rails of skate parks.
Hostick said park planners will likely look into that validity of that finding.
“Our goal is to make these facilities accessible to everybody, but on the other hand, we want to preserve these facilities,” Hostick said.
Tim Owen, whose son is a BMX rider, said he would support a bike park because he worries that confrontations between bikers and police could lead to hostility and criticism of the sport.
“It kind of invites a renegade element by not providing a legal place,” he said. “But it’s really a great thing for kids. I’m glad my kid’s into it.”
Kevin Leonard, teen director and outreach director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Emerald Valley, said a bike park in Eugene would not only give bikers a more enjoyable place to ride but also a safer one.
Wanted: a place to ride
Daily Emerald
February 1, 2001
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