5 things you need to know about Sunnyside Bike Park
Posted July 17, 2014 2:22 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The city is opening a bike park for off-road cycling at the foot of Ellis Avenue near Sunnyside Beach. The park will offer cyclists a chance to pull tricks and stunts on obstacles and paths while offering GO train and Gardiner Expressway passengers a peek at the high-flying fun.
1. The city brought in renowned bike park designer Jay Hoots to design the new park. Vancouver-based Hoots and his company, Hoots Inc., have worked on more than 50 similar projects including parks and trails in Vancouver, Canmore, Alta, and Petawawa, Ont.
2. The city hopes the new park will pull riders away from non-city-sanctioned spots in and around High Park that riders have set up themselves. There are concerns such parks could disrupt the natural ecosystems.
3. Call it a bike park with a view: The Sunnyside Bike Park is a stone’s throw from Lake Ontario near the shores of Sunnyside Beach. Parts of the park are about 150 metres from the water’s edge, which could make for some stellar backdrops to videos and photographs of stunts and jumps.
4. Much of the wood used to build elements of the park comes from ice-storm-ravaged trees salvaged by the city’s urban forestry department.
5. The Sunnyside Bike Park is the third of its kind in the city, with a fourth on the way. The city has already built bike parks at Bayview Arena and near the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre. A fourth is planned for Marie Curtis Park, near the Mississauga border.
The Sunnyside Bike Park is located at 3 Ellis Ave., sandwiched between the Gardiner Expressway, Lake Shore Boulevard, Ellis Avenue, and Colborne Lodge Road.
