Laguna Beach investigates sites for proposed pump track

Laguna Beach is showing interest in bringing an additional recreational amenity to the community in the form of a proposed pump track, a graded and paved contoured track used by mountain bikers and others to hone their skills.

The Laguna Beach City Council entertained preliminary analysis of several sites for a proposed pump track during its meeting on July 22. City staff suggested in a report that two tracks could be built — one for beginners and the other for general use.

The council appeared to favor exploring a pump track at or adjacent to Moulton Meadows Park, which was in line with the recommendation of the city’s recreation committee.

“It is currently the vacant section of the park past the soccer field,” said Alexis Braun, the city’s acting director of transit and community services. “It’s adjacent to mountain biking trails and is already being utilized by the community, with multiple access points connecting both Arch Beach Heights and the Top of the World neighborhoods. Bikers have constructed their own jumps in this proposed location already.”

Sites such as Aliso Beach Park, the Community and Recreation Center, and Lang Park also came up for consideration. The alternative sites could potentially infringe upon other recreational amenities or city projects, according to city staff.

San Clemente recently completed the first pump track in Orange County. The 18,000-square-foot facility, which city staff noted cost approximately $619,000, opened in April. The land provided to build that facility was largely flat.

David Browning, president of the Orange County Mountain Bike Assn., addressed the topography associated with the Moulton Meadows Park site.

“That slope would have to be filled, engineered and [a] retaining wall would have to be built because you have to start with a level surface,” Browning said.

Other cities in the process of looking to bring a pump track to their communities include Buena Park, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine and Tustin, the Orange County Mountain Bike Assn. wrote on its website in an announcement following the Laguna Beach discussion.

Orange County Parks is also planning to construct a 9.7-acre bike facility at Craig Regional Park in Fullerton.

City staff said community outreach efforts included notices mailed to homes within 500 feet of Moulton Meadows Park, a comment form in the city newsletter, and signage installed around the park soliciting input from cyclists and residents a couple weeks prior to the meeting.

The response was significant, with 193 park users and 127 neighbors providing feedback in that time period. Asked if a pump track is a park amenity they would use, 77.4% of respondents said they would, according to data presented by city staff.

About 60% of the survey respondents whose homes would neighbor the project submitted comments in support of it.

“Regarding concerns about park crowding, the proposed project will be on land outside of the current park boundaries,” said Tierney Doran, the city’s recreation supervisor. “It’s not going to overcrowd the area that’s already being used. To mitigate undesirable behaviors, we can always install fencing and include supervision by park rangers. …Pump tracks are not intended for e-bikes, nor are they allowed on the nearby trails. We expect that the primary users will be accessing the pump track either via the existing network of trails or the adjacent neighborhoods from Top of the World and Arch Beach Heights.”

Doran added that a pump track could also be used by skateboarders and roller skaters.

Apart from impacts on the surrounding neighborhood, environmental concerns also entered into the discussion.

“I don’t want to undersell the large-scale environmental impacts of putting it in the open space,” said Councilmember Hallie Jones, who has teamed up with Mayor Alex Rounaghi in a working group for the pump track effort. “I want to be really clear about that. I think it’s possible. I think we could find a win-win situation, but I think it’s going to be complicated.”

The council voted unanimously to direct staff to further investigate a site selection, including the initiation of a feasibility study and site evaluation. The city plans to work with the county to explore land-transfer agreements for a preferred site and to collaborate with the Orange County Mountain Bike Assn. to identify funding opportunities.

“I just think this is the ideal spot,” Rounaghi said of the Moulton Meadows Park site, noting its accessibility in proximity to residences. “I’m open to the idea of exploring whether it’s feasible. We could easily speak to a civil engineer and just get an understanding of what the cost would be associated with the grading to deal with that topography, which is very intense, but I ultimately think that this site is the one that we should move forward with.”