No BMX Bikes on Skatepark, City May Create Separate Site

OCEAN CITY – It sounds unlikely that Ocean City would open its skatepark to BMX bikes, but the city will consider building bike riders a park of their own. 
The city opened its skatepark in 2015. From the start, bicycles were banned; both because of the damage they do to the equipment and the risk of injury from a collision when bikes and skateboards are used at the same time.
A speaker at the Jan. 25 City Council meeting believed it’s time for a change.
Kenneth Clifford asked the city to find some way to accommodate BMX riders.
He suggested the park could be open only to bike riders at times when it had the fewest skaters.
Short of that, he said the city should try to find bike riders a place of their own. He said he understood that options could take a long time, particularly since the city had just spent much of the meeting discussing a five-year plan for $100 million worth of capital projects, with no mention of BMX riding.
He described BMX riding as a lifestyle, much like skating or surfing.
“It’s a culture,” Clifford told council members, saying there is a huge community.
“I could be here with 300 riders, holdings signs (that say) ‘let the bikes in,’ but I’m representing the whole community,” he said.
Speaking near the close of the lengthy meeting, he said the problem has been going on for about a decade. An abbreviation for bicycle motocross, BMX began with bike riders using tracks built with jumps and obstacles for motorcycle races. The sport grew and expanded to include freestyle stunts and aerial tricks, sometimes using skateparks designed for skateboards.
Clifford said he had met with City Councilman Mike DeVlieger, one of the biggest advocates for the creation of the skatepark at 550 Asbury Ave. This was the city’s second skatepark, with one near the boardwalk at Sixth Street removed years ago.
The current park cost about $750,000, with $500,000 in county Open Space money supplemented by $250,000 from the city.
The original plan was not to have the park staffed and to rely on posted rules to keep things in line. But city officials said at the meeting it was a matter of days before they shut the park, to reopen it with supervision. Without it, there was chaos, they said.
The rules call for protective equipment for all riders and a ban on scooters, bikes and in-line skates.
DeVlieger did not seem inclined to compromise on allowing bikes. Insurance would not allow skates and bikes at the same time, he said, and the equipment was designed for skateboards.
At one point, some riders jumped the fence and used scooters at the park.
“To see the amount of damage they caused with those scooters, I wouldn’t support bikes,” he said at the meeting. “That said I do support trying to find a place that could support BMX. It’s a good community. It’s very popular.”
The city has a lot of recreation and should be able to find a spot for BMX riders.
“I think it’s worthy of its project,” he said. After the close of the meeting, Mayor Jay Gillian told Clifford that the city would work out something.
A community advocacy group, BikeOCNJ.org, has worked to increase bike routes and bike safety in recent years but works on expanding and enhancing bike routes on roadways, not off-road riding.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.