On May 1'st the Alamo Heights community celebrated an

achievement two years in the making: the groundbreaking of a

bike park, a formally designated place for kids to bike safely.

The park will be on a 1.28-acre site between Bark Park and the

Alamo Heights ISD Baseball Field within the Olmos Basin

floodplain. In reality, it’s more than a bike park, it’s an

opportunity not only for these to kids to be safe outdoors and

have fun, but it’s an opportunity for them to learn from each

other, rely on each other and teach each other. Let’s go back to

the beginning.

It was two summers ago, right smack in the middle of Covid,

when kids spent too much time indoors on their devices for

educational purposes and even to socialize. Weston Cox, then

15 years old living with his family in Alamo Heights, along with

friends in the community, both boys and girls, ventured out to

public space in the Olmos Basin area to bike the nature trails.

They had found a nice little spot next to the creek away from

people, but still relatively close to the parking lot by Alamo

Heights pool. As they got better at biking the trails, they

wanted to challenge themselves with technical moves like

jumping, so they built flow trails and jumps. This took about a

month to build and maintain. Once they had finished, they

shared the spot with other kids in the community, giving them

the chance to try out the jumps. The younger kids looked up to

Weston and the others as “great bikers” and these youngsters

wanted to bike just like them. Weston and his peers took this

opportunity to teach the younger group bike safety, including

how to safely go down a trail and how to “bail” appropriately so

you fall safely. Sometimes on a Sunday the kids would gather

right after church and ride until dark. Everyone learned to

respect each other and each other’s opinions. The kids

dreamed of improving the trail similar to the beautiful nature

trails of Colorado. Unfortunately the City deemed that the bike

trail was to be cleared. One Saturday when a group of kids

arrived for a morning of biking, everything was gone. The trees

and grass had been cleared; the area was completely leveled.

The kids had such a good thing going, what happened?

Weston called his mom, who reached out to the families in the

neighborhood. Brooke Leddy started a Facebook page to

coordinate support in an effort to find a suitable, safe place for

the kids to continue biking. As Elizabeth Cox remarked, “These

kids just lost the one thing they wanted to do.”

In an effort to formally solicit the city for a designated space, a

non-profit was formed, resulting in a clear framework and

better organization. A Board of Directors was created, and a

survey was sent out to over 250 families asking the kids to

share what they had enjoyed about the outdoor space they

used to have. The kids were also asked what they would like to

call this space. A formal and very traditional name was voted

in: Alamo Heights Bike Park. What followed were several meetings with city leaders as well as dialogue with Alamo Heights community members to find an agreed upon, designated space that would work for everyone. City Council

members Lawson Jesse and Wes Sharples were instrumental in helping the Board navigate the process of petitioning the city. It was a civics lesson in action, joining with others and actively collaborating with neighbors and groups. Phil Laney, Assistant City Manager appreciated the high level of interest and engagement of the residents. He immediately recognized the

value of the bike park and was a big advocate. He felt it was

the city’s role to act as facilitator and figure out how to make it

work. 

In December of 2020, the City of Alamo Heights entered into an

agreement with the Alamo Heights Bike Park organization to permit the temporary use of space while a permanent location for a bike park was still underway. Happily, in January of this year, plans for the Alamo Heights Bike Park was formally approved and the groundbreaking took place on May 1 st .

It's a win-win in so many ways. It’s not just an opportunity for the kids to hone their technical biking skills, but older kids have a chance to be a leader to the younger generation. Kids who need someone to talk to and hear them without judgement can have that experience. Everyone is accepted and everyone

learns respect.

Not too long ago, Alamo Heights Bike Park partnered with the

Mayor’s Fitness Council Student Ambassadors to offer a bike clinic. Bicycle Heaven presented a lesson on bike maintenance and safety, Ghisallo Cycling provided bike lights and goodie bags, and Ian’s Pledge provided a free helmet to any rider that needed one along with a brief discussion about helmet safety.  As Phil Laney says, “The cool thing is the bike park will evolve

over time as it changes and grows.”

This will not be the last of these successful collaborations,

bringing the bike community young and old together to learn,

have fun, and bike in the great outdoors! Congratulations!