Constable Scott Mills poses for photos with mural artists Kedre Brown, 19, right, and Jessey Pacho,20, left. They were at the bike park near Dupont and Dufferin Sts. where the two have painted art on the ramos and jumps that bikers use.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Toronto's BMX enthusiasts want some city councillors to leap past their outdated attitudes about punks on mini-bikes and recognize the sport for what it has become - a fast-growing Olympic event that even has backers among Toronto's finest.
Constable Scott Mills, the Toronto Police Service's social media officer, said the stereotypes are incorrect: "As a police officer, father and community member, I've seen so many positive benefits of kids being involved in BMX." He was in San Francisco on Tuesday helping community organizers there promote the sport.
Despite all that, a state-of-the-art $700,000 BMX racing track proposed for Centennial Park as part of the 2015 Pan American Games facilities - the first of its kind in Toronto - drew fire Monday from deputy mayor Doug Holyday. During an executive committee meeting, he said that families using the park could get "hit by a bike," and added that the facility would spoil the character of the park.
Other councillors disagree and hope their colleagues will approve the construction of the park when the plan comes to council later this month: "Centennial Park is a perfect location for a BMX facility," said Janet Davis (Beaches East York), who advocated for such projects during the previous term of council.
But if Etobicoke doesn't want the track as a legacy of the Pan Am Games, the city should consider building the facility in a previously approved location in Marilyn Bell Park, near Lake Ontario, said Michael Heaton, president of Toronto BMX, a not-for-profit group that promotes the sport.
BMX, which stands for "bicycle motocross," suffers from a tenacious image problem that may be at the root of the city's reluctance to invest in courses. As with skateboarders, some homeowners see BMXers as aimless teens hanging out on undersized bikes in public spaces, and respond negatively to proposals to build facilities for them.
"There are residents who don't want kids in their [local parks]" Ms. Davis said. "We've had nothing but praise of skate park and we'll have the same for the BMX parks."
In the past two years, BMX activists led by Mr. Heaton, a retired school teacher, persuaded council to adopt a "go-forward" strategy to develop more facilities; currently, there are only two, and neither is in good condition. The city plans to spend $200,000 this year to improve one of the facilities or build a new one.
But demand is such that many BMXers and mountain bikers have taken to building outlaw trails with jumps in the city's ravines and forested parks, including High Park. Overuse has led to slope erosion, according to city officials. "There are some really negative effects on the environment," said Mark Edelman, acting manager of parks and service planning.
Mr. Heaton pointed out that Toronto is one of the few North American cities of its size that doesn't have a competitive BMX track suitable for training purposes. "At some point in time, the city will have to address that." Milton, by contrast, has a 20-year-old BMX track racing facility that is operated and maintained by the parents of the athletes who train and compete there.
Constable Mills said that in the past, he's invited skeptics like Mr. Holyday to attend BMX events so they can "watch what the kids do and the camaraderie that comes with it."
As for the eventual location of the proposed track, he said that the most crucial factor is proximity to families with older children and adolescents. "Close to where the kids are is the most important thing."
Special to the Globe and Mail