The Acton Pump Track

- The community’s playground for bikes

Proposal for 9/14/20 BOS meeting Who are we?

I am Nathan Kleinschmidt, a Senior at ABRHS and a Boy Scout from Troop 1 Acton (current ASPL). I am an avid mountain biker and varsity racer for the Acton area mountain bike team, the Gnargonauts. This project will hopefully become my Eagle project.

I am working with a few other members of the community: Mike Grafeo ( [email protected] ), Adam Nolde ( [email protected] ), and David Kleinschmidt ( [email protected] ) We are all mountain bike enthusiasts and super excited to be bringing a pump track to Acton

What is a pump track? ● A small loop trail that contains rollers, banked turns called berms and natural features such as rollers which can be ridden by pumping (creating momentum with body movements) or pedaling. ● A relatively short circuit which can be built in an area as small as 1/2 to 1/4 acres. ● Although extra dirt is needed, pump tracks leverage existing terrain to blend in with the natural environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPcG6cZqhcc ● Helps riders improve balance, carrying momentum, bike handling skills, and safety. ● Like a skatepark but no concrete and all dirt

Why should we build one?

● Pump tracks are FUN!!! ● Riders of ALL ages and abilities can enjoy and benefit from a pump track equally ● Builds a healthy, fit and active community ● Allows riders to develop new skills and improve in a safe environment ● Promotes safe and responsible riding

● This is a community led initiative ● They are relatively easy and cheap to build and maintain (built largely by hand) ● Made of natural materials so it will have minimal impact on the surrounding area

Chelmsford Pump Track Success

About 15 years ago, the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) built a pump track in Chelmsford. Since then, it has been a huge success. Attracting riders of all ages and abilities from the surrounding area, it has become a hub for the community. On a sunny Saturday, you’re likely to see anybody from a three year old on a scoot bike to a family of five to a group of old dudes hanging out after a ride. Instead of sitting at home playing video games, kids of all ages can ride to the pump track and have fun being outdoors for hours on end. Chelmsford has had very few problems such as litter, trail misuse, or disruptive behavior. NEMBA has done an excellent job of maintaining the pump track through volunteers, some of whom are high schoolers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oBaYIRZet4 Three and a half years ago, Adam Nolde Acton Youth started a youth mountain biking team, the Gnargonauts, hoping to grow a small community of young riders and race with the NEHSCA league. As one of those riders, I have watched the explosion of youth mountain biking in Acton and across the country. Since then, the team has grown to over 70 riders (largest in the league) along with a couple dozen coaches and parent volunteers. The Gnargonauts represent the strong and rapidly growing mountain bike community in Acton and surrounding towns. This community, which extends far beyond the team, will not only benefit greatly from having a pump track in Acton, but will be indispensable in helping build and maintain it. The Proposed Location

After considering a number of possibilities, we’ve decided the highlighted municipal property next to NARA park best suits our needs such as: 1. Terrain - large enough, roughly flat and fairly open 2. Centralized location - NARA park is an existing outdoor recreation hub and the proximity to the BF makes it a very logical location 3. Amenities - NARA park will provide the very minimal needed porta -potties; there is ample room for creating parking along Quarry Rd and we will install a trash can. 4. Convenience - The property is easy to get to by bike or car via quarry road, the bike path, or Wills Hole conservation land 5. The proposed property has been recommended as a suitable space by multiple town committees and officials. The forest within the selected area is fairly sparse which means no mature trees will have to be removed. Track Placement Bruce Ringwall has agreed to conduct a survey pro bono. With this survey, we will be able to design the track around the existing trees and geography to minimize our impact on the The track will NOT take up the natural environment. entire 1.3 acres. The final track will only take up roughly one third of an acre. It will be situated towards the Quarry road side of the property (set back at least 30ft). This will maximize the space between the track and the yellow trail along with nearby houses, and make it accessible from parking along Quarry road. Pump Track Design

While there are 1.3 acres available to use, our pump track will take up less than half an acre. It will be roughly oval shaped and will only be roughly one tenth of a mile in distance.

With the natural geography in mind, all of the dirt used to build the track will be brought in. While this will require a sizeable amount of dirt (100+ yards), there are several advantages to importing fill: 1. the natural topsoil will not be dug up or disturbed so we will not need to conduct an archeological survey, 2. we will be We are working with several experts who have able to choose the correct dirt which will create experience in pump track and trail building to come up a more durable, safer and maintenance friendly with a design which will conform to the natural pump track, and 3. External dirt will be easier to features and create a fun, safe, sustainable pump engineer and more conducive to establishing track. proper drainage. Construction

We will source some of the dirt from the nearby DPW yard. Some of the DPW silt loam will be mixed with clay which we will buy ourselves. A higher percentage of clay is needed because it packs together ● Trained land stewards will cut any deadfall, dead trees, or small better and will create a more trees that need to be removed and volunteers will clear the sustainable track. designated path. ● The dirt will be acquired, screened, mixed, and delivered to the site. In addition to a bobcat and hand ● A bobcat (or similar machine) will be rented or borrowed and used tools, the construction phase will to move the dirt to form the general shape of the track according to require a source of water to the design. keep the dirt damp such that it is ● The track will be hand shaped and packed with shovels and packable. We are considering a tampers. few options for obtaining water. ● After any final edits, the track will be packed into its final shape and ready for public use. Parking: While many pump track users will not need to park, we recognize Amenities that the NARA park area can be very busy at times. We are proposing to add 5-10 additional parking spaces to the opposing (NARA park) side of Quarry Road where there is ample space to create a sufficient number of spaces. This will allow cars to be completely off the road and alleviate the hazard of illegally parked cars on the side of Quarry Road (This will not be part of my Eagle project)

Trash: We will arrange to have a trash can set up on the property. Mountain bikers tend to be quite environmentally conscious so we don’t expect trash to be an issue

Bathrooms: Like a conservation area, a bathroom is not required for a pump track. If necessary, riders can use the nearby NARA park porta potties (during the summer).

Information: Will we post information regarding safe and sustainable pump track use along with any other necessary information around the start area of the track. An official kiosk (and maybe a picnic table) may be added later (Stratham New Hampshire) as another Eagle Scout’s project. NEMBA

The New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) is our local trail advocacy group (https://www.nemba.org). They are responsible for building and maintaining numerous recreational trails in the region including a number of pump tracks. Many advocates of the Acton Pump Track are NEMBA members and as you may know, Philip Keyes was the executive director of NEMBA up until recently.

NEMBA has (unofficially) said that they would be willing to assist with the construction and maintenance of the Acton Pump Track. Once the project is approved, they would be able to enter memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the town. We are also applying for a trail grant to help with fundraising

NEMBA can also: reach a larger group of local volunteers, assist in funding through grants, and provide liability insurance to volunteers. Other Notes

● Funds will be raised through a go fund me and may be supplemented with grants from advocacy groups. The current budget it roughly $4,000 - $5,000 ● Liability will be handled in a similar manner to the skate park, although, a pump track is actually safer than a skate park mainly because it is made of dirt and safer to ride. ● My Eagle Scout deadline is June 2021 so in order to have the project count for my Eagle rank, the pump track will need to be completed by April 2021 so we would like to start construction in the late fall of 2020. ● Concerns were raised about mountain bikers cutting through the woods to the driveway for 68 and 70 Quarry road so we will construct a barrier (possibly a wooden horse fence) in between the driveway and the unofficial trail. Nathan Kleinschmidt Thank You! (978) 201-0684 [email protected]

Thank you very much for taking the time to consider our ideas. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.