MATTOON — Boosters for creating a community bicycle pump track on property next to the Cross County Mall are set to pursue a design and a fundraising campaign for this project.
Those cycling enthusiasts plan to follow this course after the Mattoon City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday evening to potentially accept the track as a public park if the recreation site is successfully developed and a maintenance agreement is in place for it.
"Basically, this is setting the framework. The city is not committing any money," said Community Development and Planning Director Alex Benishek, adding the city could help with project grant writing. "If the private entities involved in this are able to pull that off, we will accept it as park."
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Pump tracks have asphalt surfaces on which bike riders go over small hills and around banked turns in a loop as their momentum enables them to build up speed. Local boosters want to create a track on the drainage pond property that serves the mall, which is owned by Rural King Realty of Mattoon.
Benishek said these cyclists initially looked into building a small pump track at 10th Street and Richmond Avenue, along the Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail. He said the city's application for a $100,000 Kubota Hometown Proud grant last year was not successful, so they began considering other options.
"When we went back to the drawing board, we dreamed a lot larger,"Â Benishek said of the potential for a pump track that could host competitions.
Pump track booster Tom Wright of Mattoon said the proposed pump track would be unique in the region by having sections for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders. He added that this facility could be used by bicyclists of all ages.
"Any bicycle that you have can be used on this track. It does not require an expensive piece of equipment," Wright said of the proposed recreation site, which would also be located along the Lincoln Prairie Grass Trail.
Council member Jim Closson said such a pump track could potentially draw cyclists to Mattoon to use it and could be used in conjunction with the Emerald Acres Sports Complex that is be developed off the southwest corner of Interstate 57 and Illinois Route 16.
"The work you are doing on the pump track is a fantastic project," said council member Dave Cox to Wright. "I look forward to seeing that develop."
In other matters, the council accepted the $112,800 bid of G & H Inc. for the installation of rip rap stones at the Lake Mattoon beach and the east and west campgrounds.
Closson said this project would place stones along more than 1,400 feet of shoreline in these high traffic areas, where erosion prevention measures are especially needed.
The funding will be drawn from a $599,800 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant that was awarded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for improvements at the Lake Mattoon Marina and campgrounds.
"That OSLAD grant has really paid dividends for Lake Mattoon," Closson said, adding that this funding will help provide a new parking lot surface for the marina and a playground for the beach this year.
In addition, the council accepted the $3.17 million bid of Stark Excavating for construction of the city roadways this year that will serve the Emerald Acres sports complex and its adjacent shopping area.
The city has been awarded up to $2 million in economic development grant funds from the Illinois Department of Transportation to help with this road construction project.