The possibility of a public-use pump track received a major boost last week. On Thursday, November 1, WTB employee Mark Weir and Rob Howard, director of Bikeskills, met with the Novato City Council / Parks and Recreation to discuss the potential for a public pump track.
The meeting went extremely well. By the end of Thursday’s discussion, city council officials had one major concern: That one pump track would not be enough for the city’s population of 50,000 (Novato is California’s 153rd largest city). The very next day city commissioners visited Weir’s house to witness his backyard pump track first hand. City officials seemed impressed during their Friday afternoon visit, watching Weir’s neighbors—aged 5 to 65—enjoying the dirt playground of bumps and berms. One of the councilmen even threw a leg over one of Weir’s Santa Cruz Jackals and gave it a go. By the end of the afternoon the group was all smiles and talk turned to the possibility of building as many as three public pump tracks within Novato’s city limits.
This is obviously great news for the communities of the north bay area. But don’t be jealous of Novato. Last week’s events legitimize pump tracks for all of us. If the city of Novato is this fired up on pump tracks than your town could be next.
  
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| Caption: Novato city officials watched as people of all ages enjoyed the pumptrack. All photos by Sam Neff |