Newly renovated Dirt World Bike Park a gem for cyclists and an oasis for neighbors

It’s about one city-block wide and two-to-three blocks long and consists of a series of mounds of dirt with occasional curved paths of asphalt. On its south side are chain-link fences protecting the backyards of small, modest single-family homes. On its north side are the back walls of a Postal Service warehouse. A block or two over, BART trains noisily clack away as they zip past.

Yet, this rectangular plot of land is a bit of an oasis near the corner of 20th Street and Ohio Avenue in central Richmond.

The Dirt World Bike Park reopened in late October after a two-year, $1 million renovation paid for with money from Proposition 68. It’s part of the Outdoors for All Initiative overseen by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office meant to provide Californians, regardless of where they live, with greater access to parks and open space.

The Richmond bike park is divided into three basic sections: There are the pump trails on the west end with paved, curved circles for younger and beginning cyclists to practice riding and jumping; in the middle is the BMX track with a mix of dirt and paved ramps for older children, as well as intermediate level bicyclists; And on the east end are the jump lines with steep embankments and sharply inclined wooden ramps for adults, teens and more experienced riders.

“It’s a really cool bike park,” said Joe Blanco, the construction manager on the project who works with Mack 5, a construction company that has built a number of bicycle parks. “It’s an important resource for kids. It gives them a place to go and something to do. It keeps them out of trouble.”

Justin Blea, who serves on the steering committee for the bike park, agrees. “It gives kids a safe place to go and a healthy thing to do,” he said. 

Blea, a former Richmond resident who now lives in Albany, is one of a number of people who have spent years making the dirt bike park a reality. 

The project reportedly began in 2015 when Dennis Hoskins, a co-founder of the bicycle park, was asked by his son to find a place for kids to ride dirt bikes.

In 2016, a group of community members used the city’s Adopt-A-Spot program to claim the lot — which sits next to the Richmond Greenway, a corridor that runs from Second Street to 23^rd Street along Ohio Avenue — with the goal of creating a BMX bicycle park.

In 2018, volunteers scraped together enough money and donated dirt to build ramps and other facilities in the vacant lot. The park quickly caught on and was attracting up to 50 riders per day. The heavy usage, however, took a toll as drainage problems and erosion issues emerged.

That’s when the Prop. 68 money was sought. Jeanine Strickland, a landscape architect and a member of the park’s steering committee, wrote the successful grant application.

The money was used to rebuild the ramps, install a drainage system, construct fences, plant native vegetation and put up signs identifying the park and laying out the rules, which include no electric bicycles, a mandatory helmet requirement and operating hours of sunrise to sunset.

Blanco says it’s now up to an army of dedicated volunteers to keep the park clean, safe and inviting. They do that by picking up trash, pulling weeds and making sure encampments don’t spring up among the acreage.

“It’s a very robust and a very spirited volunteer group,” he said. “It’s a community that has a sense of pride in the place.”

Visitors to the park may notice trash on the Lillie May Jones Trail that runs along the park’s north side as well as graffiti on some of the signs, but won’t see those things within the park itself, which stays clean and well-maintained.

Jene Levine-Snipes, a development project manager in Richmond’s recreation department, said the park is a great example of how the city and community volunteers can work together. 

She adds that taxpayers are getting their money’s worth with the Prop. 68 funds.

“It’s a good use of that money,” Levine-Snipes said. “That one million dollars is going a long way.”

Wendy Wellbrock, a senior civil engineer for the city, hopes the success of Dirt World Bike Park will inspire residents of other Richmond neighborhoods to take on a project.

“It’s just one part of a long-term effort,” she said.

Blea said the neighbors who live along the park’s edge are supportive because the activity there helps reduce crime and provides a place for the community to engage. 

“The community is behind it,” he said. “It’s a positive use of the space.”

Depending on the weather, 20 to 100 bicyclists now use the park on any given day. Blea said the park and its ramps can accommodate a wide range of ages and experience. He has seen children as young as 2 years old pedaling along the paths.

That’s what lured Zach Powers to the park on a recent Sunday. The Oakland resident brought his two sons, Oscar, 8, and Solly, 5, for some recreational riding. It was the family’s second visit, having come several weeks earlier. On this day, they enjoyed the ramps and then hooked up with other children who were attending a birthday party at the park. Oscar and Sally were joined by a neighborhood kid who had ridden over by himself to the park.

“This is a safe place to ride,” said Powers, and “it’s got something that’ll challenge anybody. I like to come out here because I feel like a kid again.”

As for those who think $1 million is too much to spend to upgrade a dirt bike park?

“Kids get to spend time outdoors in a healthy manner,” said Powers. “What better way to spend a million dollars?”