Progress with Stafford Lake Bike Park to be Shown Off Monday

Community input on the bike park plan for in Novato is paying off. The park designers and Marin County parks officials will display a “90 percent master plan design” at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the , and many of the newest features stemmed from tips from local riders.

The bike park, the first of its kind on Marin County public land, is a project of the Marin County Department of Park and Open Space and will take up about 14 acres on the west side of Stafford Lake County Park.

The gently undulating terrain and 100 feet of elevation change on the parcel lends itself well to providing many types of riding opportunities — from a basic single-track perimeter trail, kids learn-to-ride zone to more advanced gravity-fed flow trails with berms and table-top jumps to “north shore”-style elevated trails. 

At Monday’s workshop, the public can ask questions and provide more feedback that will be incorporated into the next phase of design. At least 100 people have taken guided tours of the site.

The park is in the planning stages and funding has not been secured, but the county is making steady progress with Hilride, a company that builds bike parks, said the county’s Steve Petterle. If things go well with grants and donations, there’s a chance something could be opened by the end of the year, he said, but 2012 might be more realistic because of state environmental evaluations that are park of constructing such a park.

The cost is expected to be about $500,000, Petterle said. A key factor would be business partnerships with local bike shops, bike manufacturers, riding coaches and professional riders who can help get the park off the ground an make it a family-friendly recreation site with “learn to ride” areas.

To e-mail feedback, send notes to nat@hilride.com or spetterle@co.marin.ca.us.