Riders rally to save large homemade Oshawa Ont. bike park shuttered by city

Riders rally to save man-made bike park A group of riders are asking the city of Oshawa not to demolish a man-made bike park in the area.

TORONTO — In the middle of a forested area near the Oshawa Airport sits an open secret among BMX and mountain bikers.

It's a large scale, man-made bike park featuring dirt trails and jumps. And for more than a decade, it's been a place for riders of all ages to gather and ride.

"When I came here it had already been started," rider Paul Morris told CTV News Toronto as he showed off the area riders refer to as Greenland. "It just kind of expanded a little over the years, until you see what we have here now- which is pretty substantial, considering it has been built by hand."

Paul Morris says he's been riding here for over ten years, he still rides today. So too does his son Liam, who has been riding here since the age of 10 and says he was disappointed when he learned the City of Oshawa was shutting the park down.

"Honestly this has a lot of sentimental value to me, just growing up here and making a lot of life-long friends. So it was really disappointing, but I could understand their side."

The park is not a city-run facility, but it does sit on city-owned land. A city spokesperson told CTV News Toronto that due to concerns over safety, liability, and access for emergency vehicles, the city took steps to block access, including installing a fence with padlocks on the trail. The city had also informed riders that the jumps would be demolished as early as Wednesday.

Paul Morris says the news caught riders off-guard.

"We'd like to have a little time to discuss some kind of option to make it work like a skate park or something."

He said he hopes that "at least if this does get plowed maybe they can fast track some other type of facility like this that is legal."

Many who gathered at the park on Tuesday afternoon talked about what the park meant to them. For many, it's not just a place to show off their skills, but it's also become a community.

Kayla Hall, the lone female rider among the group that had gathered, said she'd only started riding this summer. Hall said safety was one of her biggest concerns as a rider and something she never worries about while at Greenland. "A lot of people are like- you can just go ride your bike downtown or whatever, but to be realistic with you, it's not safe!"

The dusty dirt jumps and trails that border the Oshawa Airport Golf Club are also where professionals have honed their skills.

"These jumps definitely enabled me to become what I wanted to become" said Mike Varga.

Varga is a professional BMX rider who grew up in Oshawa and has become an X Games Gold Medallist.

"We'd always come here and ride the dirt jumps, and build, and have fun. The jumps weren't too big so it's good for amateurs, people beginning, and people trying to become what I am today."

Riders created an online petition, which had gathered more than 2,000 signatures by Tuesday afternoon.

Late Tuesday, a city spokesperson told CTV News that plans to begin demolition had been put on hold temporarily. The city says it is reaching out to riders and hopes to have a meeting by the end of the week to see if there are any options for the site.

Paul Morris admits that he's not sure he will show up to watch if the city decides to bulldoze the jumps.

"I will cry,” he said. "That's how much it means to me- and everybody else here."