After months of public petitions, contentious meetings and letters to the editor, the planned installation of a pump track at Felton Covered Bridge Park is officially underway.
On March 4, local nonprofit Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship (SCMTS) began fundraising efforts to support pump track construction and maintenance. The design phase of the track was completed, and SCMTS will now begin fundraising and development to construct the new track, which will consist of a closed circuit of berms, rollers and turns.
This progress builds on the project’s unanimous approval by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors last December to go into a partnership with the County Parks Department for fundraising and construction of this new park amenity. According to the SCMTS website, “The Felton Pump Track will bring new safe and fun outdoor recreation to cyclists, skateboarders and roller skaters of all ages and abilities and fill a need for easily-accessible, skill-building outdoor recreation in the San Lorenzo Valley.”
While there was some consternation regarding the look of the new facility, organizers say they worked hard to incorporate feedback from the community in order to mitigate any negative impact the track may have on the historical nature of the park, including a low profile of the installation and incorporating grasses and bushes within the fenced perimeter of the track.
Matt De Young, executive director of SCMTS, is excited to be jumping onto the other side of the process.
“One of the things we really took into account is we didn’t want to detract from the aesthetics of the park as it is today. The view of the bridge will in no way be obstructed, and we wanted to keep the track as park-like as possible,” said De Young, who nodded toward the split-rail fencing and in landscaping helping to preserve the park-like feel. “I think it will make it more attractive compared to the empty volleyball court/cat litter box that currently exists there.”
De Young said organizers wanted to build a track big enough so that it would have some progression and “offer an experience for more than just little kids on scooters.”
“We’re excited to see it filled with folks on bikes, scooters, skateboards and roller skates,” he added. “It will have something for everyone, regardless of age. We didn’t want to change the character of the park, but we wanted it to be welcoming for families to enjoy.”
One of the main complaints from the community regarding the pump track was the planned location, and De Young said that was one element that couldn’t be changed.
“There weren’t any other locations available to us,” he said.
Naysayers of the project had suggested that the track be installed at the San Lorenzo Valley tri-campus, in the empty meadow on the corner of Graham Hill Road and Mount Hermon, or behind the Felton Public Library. None of those suggestions were considered, as those lots belong to private owners and couldn’t be utilized for this ambitious build.
Katy Peterson, marketing and communications director for SCMTS, said that there are plenty of opportunities for supporters to get involved with the project.
“Construction starts as soon as the fundraising goal is met,” said Peterson, who noted that the $550,000 price tag covers the cost of design and construction. “The track includes a 10,000 square-foot graded footprint, with 5,000 square feet of asphalt surface. Volunteer events at the Felton Pump Track will kick off once the construction phase begins, and the expected opening is about 12 weeks after groundbreaking.”
The genesis for the pump track idea didn’t come from SCMTS, nor the Santa Cruz County Parks Department, but rather from Aptos resident Blair Zehm, who was born and raised in Felton.
“I’m just a community member of the San Lorenzo Valley who reached out to Matt about them running the construction, design and fundraising arms of the track, and Matt was right on board with the idea,” said Zehm, who owns and runs Krawl Apparel in Felton. “The SCMTS has been doing some great work, and I knew they’d be the right fit for the project.”
Zehm was born in Zayante and spent his childhood building jumps and tracks with his friends on his family’s 60 acres of land.
“I’ve always had an active lifestyle on two wheels, and bringing this track to Felton for all the kids is a great way to get them outside,” said Zehm, who has no children of his own. “That’s how I grew up, and I feel that’s something we’re lacking these days. Everyone’s attached to their phones and they’ve become content with that, and I feel the youth activities in SLV have diminished.”
Zehm, who mentioned Pam Falke-Kruger’s success at getting a skatepark installed at the bottom of Zayante Road at Graham Hill in the Felton Bible Church parking lot, added, “We had some adults who really supported us when we were kids, and I want to give back the way they did.”
For Zehm, he’s planning to visit the pump track as often as possible.
“I’m looking at the pump track as a way for families to congregate and maybe add a new routine to their weekly outings,” he said. “Parents sitting on the grass with their little ones while the bigger kids traverse the track. Kids are going to scuff themselves up, shed a few tears and get back on their wheels again. It’s a great opportunity for them to learn how to pick themselves up after they fall, and enjoy the outdoors in a way that’s beneficial to their families.”
For more information on the Felton Pump Track, visit tinyurl.com/FeltonPumpTrack.
