Last summer we reported the long-awaited news that the new Mountain Bike Skills Course at Central Park would indeed be built in Issaquah Highlands. This park feature is still coming, just not this year, as we had hoped.
Find our August 2018 story, and the details about the bike design and the public process that contributed to that design here >>> . Seed money for the park was provided by Issaquah Highlands’ master developer, Port Blakely Communities. But much more is required.
As part of Issaquah’s 2019 funding strategy, the City was seeking funding from a King County Youth and Amateur Sports grant. The City recently received news that it was not awarded 2019 grant funds for this project. The County points to a large number of applications submitted as the reason for declining Issaquah’s application. The City was strongly encouraged to re-submit a grant application for the project next year. With this news, Issaquah is postponing construction of the bike park to next year (2020).
With this disappointing news, the City expressed their continued commitment to build the bike skills course. They plan to continue working with their partner, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, to finalize design, permitting and other preparations this year, so that they are prepared to begin construction once full funding for the project is secured.
More details are available at the City’s bike skills park webpage.
Pictured above: The planned location of the Mountain Bike Skills Course is just west and down the hill from Pad 1, Central Park.
