Recreation After getting no response, city mulls breaking design work into two tenders

C5

HILARY PAIGE SMITH
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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SAINT JOHN - Officials with the city's recreation and leisure services are still waiting for proposals to construct BMX and mountain biking trails at Shamrock Park.

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KâtÈ LeBlanc/Telegraph-Journal

Joe Godin bikes around the area in Shamrock Park where the proposed BMX trails will be located.

Cyclists are waiting too.

The trails are planned for the wooded area between the parking lot on Spar Cove Road and Centennial School on Constance Street. There are four trails slated for development, ranging from beginner to advanced. There will also be a BMX pump track where up to 15 riders at a time can "pump" the terrain on a continuous loop of bumps.

The city issued a proposal call for the design build for the trails in late May, searching for firms to take on the project. Bidding closed on June 18, but Peter Hanlon, an engineer working on the project with recreation and leisure services, said there was no response.

"It is a design build, which is not normally how local tenders go out. We did put one out for the skate park that worked out successfully. We're hoping to have the same success with this. It's very different than what we are used to," he said.

Hanlon said city officials are considering breaking the design work into two different tenders to attract bidders.

Completion of the biking trails will consume $325,000 of the budget for the Shamrock Park master plan. Other elements of the plan include a synthetic field, walking trails and a splash pad.

Joe Godin, a local biking advocate, works at Bike Works, a bike sale, service and repair shop on Union Street. He said he didn't expect there to be trails built at Shamrock Park, but is enthusiastic about the concept.

"I think it's a great idea. It's a good location and it's timely because of the upswing in BMX-ing in Canada and abroad as well," Godin said.

Hanlon feels that the trails are a good use of an "unused corner of the park."

"It's a beneficial location. The topography will be challenging for mountain biking. I think it's a good location myself," he said.

Godin said that his suggestion for promoting the construction of BMX and mountain biking trails would be for recreation and leisure services to host programming to teach kids how to mountain bike.