Pump Track: Please tell us your views…. – Temple Cloud with Cameley Parish Council

Table of Contents

About this Project

Following community feedback and in response to a community led poll on facebook, the Parish Council would like your views on installing a pump track on part of the playing field. This would be part funded by funds raised from past local developments (Community Intrastructure Levy), part of the funds would come from reserves held for facilities development and we will also be looking for sources of grant funding.

Initial Feedback from a Community Led poll in June 2020:

I think this is a brilliant idea There’s plenty of space and it would be a fantastic facility for young people
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1733378600055415/permalink/3132466013479993

Great idea, skate park definitely would benefit more than mud track you can ride a bike on concrete but not skate on mud
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1733378600055415/permalink/3132466013479993

A skate park out here would be great for the kids.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1733378600055415/permalink/3132466013479993

We are suggesting a small version similar in style to the following photos so that it blends into the environment. It would be suitable for all age groups and abilities. They can be used by bikes, skate boards, scooters, wheelchairs and roller skates. We are thinking of placing this on the playing field half way along the hedge behind the village hall.

Further Information

A pump track is a circuit of rollers, banked turns and features designed to be ridden completely by riders “pumping”—generating momentum by up and down body movements, instead of pedaling or pushing.^[1] It was originally designed for the mountain bike and BMX scene, and now, due to concrete constructions, is also used by skateboard, and accessible to wheelchairs. Pump tracks are relatively simple to use and cheap to construct, and cater to a wide variety of rider skill levels.
From Wikipedia

So what is a pump track?

A pump track is a playground designed for all things on wheels. It can be used by mountain bikes, bmx’s, skateboards, roller skates, scooters and balance bikes. It provides communities with a sustainable free activity that everyone can enjoy.

Pump tracks teach the basic skills of speed, momentum and balance and use combinations of rolling jumps with turns they are both accessible and are designed to provide more challenges as you practice. The process of generating speed and momentum through “pumping” means that the risk involved with a pump track is self-regulating – you need a high level of skill to get up to a high speed. A gap jump for a professional can be something a 5 year old rolls through providing a safe and fun environment for all

Benefits of a community pump track

1 – Promote a Healthy Lifestyle

Peeling children and teenagers away from their screens to actively engage in some kind of sport or exercise can be challenging. It is therefore really important to have facilities in local communities that are actually fun for youngsters to use. Pump Tracks are a gateway to developing an ingrained lifelong interest in a sport – not only cycling but also other wheeled sports like skateboarding, scooters and roller skates.

2 – Social Inclusion

The whole ethos behind a pump track is that it should be a resource that is fun and beneficial for all to use – all ages, all genders, all abilities, all wheeled sports.

A good pumptrack is designed as such that anyone is able to use it – all they need is the basic ability to ride their bike, scooter, skateboard, roller skates or any other wheeled equipment. Pump tracks are a place where it’s not unusual to find professional riders riding alongside a four year old on their balance bike. Everyone is having fun on the same track, and importantly the facility is safe for everyone to use.

3 – Help Develop Skills

One of the real benefits of a good pump track design is that it continues to engage people as their skills develop. A pump track is the place where a spark of enthusiasm can turn into a lifelong passion for cycling.

Pump Tracks help to focus teenagers. They are easy to ride, but hard to ride fast. Once the pumping action has clicked, riding a pump track becomes addictive and it’s hard to stop going until you reach the limits of your physical ability. On each lap your speed and flow increases but eventually you’ll reach a limit, and to progress further you might need to learn to manual a feature – that is to “wheelie” on your rear wheel, or maybe you need to jump from one roller to another. It’s this continuous challenge and development that really engages and focuses people, and encourages them to think creatively.

4 – Reduce antisocial behaviour

A study in Trehafod in the Rhondda Valley shows that a pump track installed in 2009 reduced antisocial behaviour in the local community by 70%. ITV News reported the great news. Further still, in 2014 the project was included in a European Commission list of the best and most promising practises in EU community policing. How is this possible? It gave local youths the golden combination of good exercise, a community to be a part of, and a place to focus and develop their skills. (source back on track http://back-on-track.co.uk/blog/four-social-benefits-of-pumptracks/)

Why wouldn’t Temple Cloud want one?