State Member for Monaro Steve Whan cuts the ribbon at the official opening of the Jerrabomberra Pump Track. Photo: Steve Whan.
The new Jerrabomberra Pump Track has been officially opened. The ceremonial cutting of the ribbon took place on 21 March at a free community event attended by members of the Jerrabomberra community and Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) members Bryce Wilson and Mareeta Grundy.
State Member for Monaro Steve Whan, who cut the ribbon, was pleased with the turnout and congratulated QPRC and the contractor, Common Ground, for delivering an impressive pump track for Jerrabomberra that will help keep the community active.
The facility, funded via a grant from the NSW Government Regional Youth Investment Program, is a looped cycling track designed to be ridden with a pumping action that negates the need for pedalling.
Riders try their hand at the new Jerra pump track. Photo: Mareeta Grundy.
It was originally slated to open on 14 February but storms in the region caused the postponement of official events. The track has been in use by the public since its completion in early February.
The final location, on Jerrabomberra’s David Madew Oval, near the high school and the tennis club, was not the original site planned for the track.
The initial location proposed by QPRC, at the Jerrabomberra Creek Park on Waterfall Drive, was rescinded on 25 January, 2024, after a rescission motion was put up by Councillor Grundy based on community feedback.
The motion put into action a process of community workshops where members of the public were consulted on possible locations for the site. The suggestions of the 69 attendees were compiled along with the results from a digital survey that saw 445 visits to the page, with 38 contributors dropping a pin on the location map. The final site was endorsed by the council on 24 April and construction broke ground in November.
Cr Grundy expressed after the official opening that based on community feedback, the final location was a winner.
QPRC Mayor Kenrick Winchester received similar feedback at the event.
‘’It’s been great to see so many kids and their families out enjoying the new pump track, learning new skills and being active in our community,” he said.
‘’We had so much great feedback about the track from attendees of our opening party. It was a great afternoon and the kids loved the BMX demonstrations from Dynamic Motivation.”
Simon The Bike Guy takes to the event on his modern penny-farthing. Photo: Mareeta Grundy.
With some work still to come on the landscaping, the track is already attracting families, kids, teenagers and adults keen to try their hand at pump riding, a sport that has evolved from BMX riding, which came to popularity in the 1970s and ’80s. Unlike BMX riding, the course is designed in a series of paved rolling waves that create momentum, and when done correctly, no pedalling is required. The waving course is also proving popular with kids on scooters.
While BMX bikes are the most popular way to ride a pump track, if the opening party is anything to go by, there may be a few more unusual vehicles aiming to master the waves.
Local bike mechanic Simon Weir, known as Simon The Bike Guy, came along on his penny-farthing. Towering above the riders on his modern take on a vintage bicycle, he gave the kids of Jerra someone to look up to, quite literally.
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