The Valmont Bike Park in Boulder, Colorado, opened clear back in June 2011. In October of that year, a group of Fort Collins bike park advocates accompanied Fort Collins City leaders and Parks and Recreation staff on a park tour. We all came away excited to bring a facility like that to Fort Collins. During the tour, Craig Foreman (former Park Planning & Development Manager) said, “I’m excited about this. This would be a great addition to our parks system”. Ben Manvel (former Council member) echoed his enthusiasm on a video produced by the city of Fort Collins by saying, “This is certainly something Fort Collins can aspire to. We have a biking community just as Boulder does and a, this is truly an awesome space. It’s fun to watch people play. They’re very excited, and I’m excited about it too. So we’ll go home and talk about it.” Twelve years later, we’re still talking about it; meanwhile, as many as 25 bike parks have opened elsewhere across the state.
From the cycling community, you’ll recognize Tim Anderson, Todd Sledge, Shauna Sledge, Ron Chambers, Doug Cutter, Dot Dickerson, Dan Porter, and a few others. From the City staff you have, Kathleen Bracke (former Transportation Planning Manager), Craig Foreman (former Park Planning & Development Manager), Bill Whirty (former Parks Manager), Ben Manvel (former Council member), Dave ‘DK’ Kemp (former Fort Collins Bicycle Coordinator and current Senior Trails Planner), and Timothy Wilder (Former Transit Planning Manager).
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