Pedestrian and cyclist safety and environmental impacts on the land were a few of the myriad concerns brought forth at the Jan. 5 Parks and Recreation Commission web meeting regarding the proposed Bike Skills Area (BSA) at Deane’s Children’s Park.

Five residents made appearances during the meeting and joined parks and rec commissioners in stating their viewpoints on the BSA conceptual design update. On the heels of two online community surveys, a public meeting and the unveiling of the initial design at last month’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, Maddie Ferson of the American Ramp Company (ARC) revealed an updated design on Jan. 5.

The revisions included adding a third downhill jump line, a fence on the east side, a gate between the playground and the BSA and more dirt features, and moving the entrance to the west side of the tennis court. Ferson noted that additional edits derived from city and community feedback could be made as the design process continues.

Leslie Batten of Seattle multidisciplinary design firm Board and Vellum noted that about 200 respondents weighed in on the latest survey that featured three general topics: the BSA in general, access and safety and environmental and natural resources. The participants gave the conceptual plan an average rank of 6.14 between the scores of 1-10, and recurring themes culled from the responses mainly echoed what Ferson affixed to the revised design.

Resident Brian Shiers, coach of the Mercer Island middle and high school mountain bike team, said he is impressed with the BSA progress and the conceptual design and added that the biking community is eager to volunteer its time on the project. A pair of his suggestions for the design are adding a pedestrian access gate so parents and children can move freely between the bike and play areas, and utilizing more dirt berm turns as opposed to the wooden sort, which can gather moss and mildew and become slippery amid rainy weather.

“This is going to be a huge asset for our children, users of the community and having a defined space for them and really improves their mental and physical health,” said Shiers, who is also president of the Mercer Island Mountain Biking Advocates organization.

Nancy Morse thanked the commission for listening to residents’ concerns and informing Islanders of the BSA by sending postcards and placing sandwich boards along 84th Avenue Southeast. She would like to see another entrance on the east side of the BSA and a fence-like structure installed near the 84th side to aid bikers in slowing their speed while leaving the park.

“I’m still concerned about proposed BSA and safety,” said Morse, adding that trail walkers, students arriving and leaving from nearby Island Park Elementary School and others could be affected by bikers rolling through the area.

One resident who lives west of Deane’s Children’s Park, Chris Vincent, said that it’s necessary for youth to enhance their mental and physical health through exercise in the BSA realm. However, he’s concerned about riders’ safety as they attempt to access the BSA through Island Park, which is adjacent to Deane’s on the northeast corner. He noted that some of the trails are narrow and steep on one side and bikers would have to lower their speed to pass by walkers.

Vincent added that BSA structures could negatively impact the environment and infringe upon wildlife habitats, and he feels the city needs to have a plan in place to deal with these issues.

In the review and discussion portion of the meeting, Parks and Recreation commissioner Don Cohen echoed Vincent’s sentiment and encouraged city staff to be proactive in solving those types of matters.

Sara Marxen, also a Parks and Recreation commissioner, suggested that bikers be trained in sharing the entire space with walkers so the BSA is a safe environment for all users.

ADA access was also discussed at the meeting and Jason Kintner, the city’s Public Works chief of operations, said that Ferson and Batten were eyeing to potentially include that access from the playground area into the central BSA location.

Parks and Recreation commissioner Rory Westberg delved into Morse’s suggestion of adding a fence near 84th. Kintner said his team wants to take a thoughtful approach in slowing down bikers in the 30-foot shared-user space, whether it’s an area for riders to potentially dismount from their bikes or using different types of surface materials to help make the area safe.

Kintner noted that it’s crucial to solicit feedback from the community on the plethora of design features, which includes the dirt and wooden berm turns.

“At this stage of the design, our team is confident with the materials that are being proposed to be used for this facility,” he said. “In our conversations and discussions with the design team, a big element of this project design is actually training our staff on how to maintain this facility moving forward, whether it’s the dirt feature, whether it’s the wood feature, whether it’s a combination of the two.”

According to a previous Reporter article, the city council appropriated $75,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund in July 2022 to begin the 30% design of the BSA, which has an estimated total project budget of $350,000.

Kintner walked the commission through the next steps of the BSA design process: There will be an online community engagement meeting, featuring breakout sessions, from 6-7:30 p.m. on Jan. 24; the revised concept design will be completed by Jan. 30; city staff will return to the Parks and Recreation Commission with an updated design and general feedback in February; and 30% design is anticipated by early February.

For more information, visit https://letstalk.mercergov.org/bike-skills-area-design.