The Sedona Bike Skills Park is now open for use — sort of.

Earlier this year, the Sedona City Council approved the funding for Phase 1 of the park by a unanimous vote. J. Banicki Construction, Inc. was awarded the contract in the amount of $115,125 on open land at Posse Grounds Park. And while the unfenced park is currently being used by riders, it’s not officially open.

“We cannot officially open the park without signage in place,” Sedona Bicycle Coordinator Doug Copp said. “Signage art work is complete and signs are being ordered today. Once we have a delivery date for the signage, then we can set a realistic date for sign installation and plan a grand opening.”

Copp said from what he has heard, things are going smoothly for those who have been using the park. There have been comments from some riders regarding changes they would like to see made to some park features. What flows well to one rider at a given speed may not be optimal for another rider traveling at a different speed, he said.

They had a meeting on Tuesday, July 12, with city staff and volunteers to discuss park maintenance and the role volunteers will play maintaining and modifying park features.

“I believe most users are happy and see the great potential of this park,” Copp said. “Getting the trails to flow in a manner that pleases the greatest number of users will be a work in progress.
This is where the park maintenance volunteers, with expertise in pump tracks and flow trails, can make trail adjustments where needed.”

In August of last year, the bike park received approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission. Some of the characteristics of the park discussed at that commission meeting included:

• The design of the park will incorporate the natural terrain and vegetation.
• No new utilities are needed.
• Bike park users will have access to the existing restrooms.
• No lighting is proposed.
• The park will operate from dawn to dusk.
• Signage will consist of signs at the entrance listing guidelines for use and a list of donors, as well as small directional signs to direct traffic and identify the different sections of the park.

Copp said the city hopes to start construction on Phase 2 this fall, after several current Parks and Recreation construction projects have been completed. Phase 2 may include the dual slalom and tot loop features for children.

“Dual slalom was the most popular feature during the design phase when the public was choosing a conceptual design and ranking the priority of park features,” he said. “Dual Slalom is the single most expensive feature to construct and its cost exceeded the budget we had for Phase 1. We believe we have enough funds in Phase 2 to construct the dual slalom and the tot loop. The tot loop is important because we want something for younger kids to use.”