Silvis Pump Track now open

“This is so cool.” That may have been the most repeated sentence in Silvis Saturday morning, Oct. 29. More than 100 youth and their parents attended the opening day for a new city park designed for BMX, or bicycle motocross, riders. The Silvis Pump Track, located at 1306 S. 19th St., is a one-of-a-kind park […]

“This is so cool.” That may have been the most repeated sentence in Silvis Saturday morning, Oct. 29. More than 100 youth and their parents attended the opening day for a new city park designed for BMX, or bicycle motocross, riders. The Silvis Pump Track, located at 1306 S. 19th St., is a one-of-a-kind park in the Quad Cities that could help make the region an even bigger sports tourism destination for people interested in BMX riding, according to city officials. (A pump track is designed for wheeled sports equipment that, when ridden properly, requires little or no pedaling or pushing, but a “pumping” action to maintain momentum, according to parkitect.com, a company that specializes in bike and skateboard rakes and custom site furnishings.) The Silvis park cost about $100,000 to develop. Most of that money, about $60,000, was needed to build the actual pump track, according to Silvis City Administrator Nevada Lemke. “It took a lot of planning to make this happen,” she added. She said the park has been in the planning stages for a couple of years. It received Silvis City Council approval in the spring, and construction to turn the former vacant lot into a pump park started in June.

The idea for the pump track park started about two years ago. During Saturday’s opening ceremonies for the park, Paul DePauw, owner and operator of the East Moline BMX Speedway, said he was driving past the vacant lot on 19th Street a couple of years ago and thought it would be a great site for BMX riders. “The Quad Cities has some of the fastest riders in the country, some of the fastest in the world,” Mr. DePauw told the crowd Saturday morning. He added that the new Silvis park probably will not host competitive BMX racing events, but will be a great place to train BMX riders and a great park for people interested in the recreational benefits of riding. Mr. DePauw and others on Saturday also thanked the city of Silvis for approving the idea for a BMX bike park. “Sometimes, these ideas get stuck on a table somewhere. … I want to give a big thank you to the city of Silvis for doing something very cool for the community,” Mr. DePauw said.

Even though the new park received many positive comments from area residents on Saturday, some commented on the lack of parking at and near the pump track. That situation will likely change in the coming months. Ms. Lemke said the city plans to make improvements to the park. Future changes include more parking space, a shelter area, bathrooms, lighting, seating for visitors and other improvements. Also, next spring there will likely be workshops at the park to teach riders about BMX riding skills. “The new pump track in Silvis is a great opportunity for visitors and Quad Citizens to connect with a destination asset that will add value to the region,” said Dave Herrell, president and CEO, Visit Quad Cities. “At a national level, BMX cycling continues to grow and activate communities and we look forward to promoting this new amenity in the QC.” The Silvis Pump Track is now open dawn to dusk every day. However, it might be open for only a short time the rest of the year. Ms. Lemke said the city will close the park once winter weather hits. But the future plans and operating hours for the park were not on the minds of the young BMX riders on Saturday. They just wanted to get on the track. The ceremonial first ride was taken by Rhett Pavelonis, an 8-year-old BMX rider from Silvis. He was quickly joined by dozens of other riders from the area. “I think this place is going to be pretty damn busy today,” said Ian Pavelonis, Rhett’s father and a Silvis alderman and supporter of the pump track plan. And it was busy as rider after rider took to the pump track on the sunny, cool morning. Many of those riders had the same comment about the park: “This is so cool.”