West Ogden’s Trackline Bike Park opening soon, latest in massive redevelopment initiative
The Trackline Bike Park, pictured Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, is set to open Oct. 2. The site is located within the Trackline Economic Development district, which aims to revitalize the West Ogden area.
The Trackline Bike Park, pictured Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, is set to open Oct. 2. The site is located within the Trackline Economic Development district, which aims to revitalize the West Ogden area.
The Trackline Bike Park, pictured Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, is set to open Oct. 2. The site is located within the Trackline Economic Development district, which aims to revitalize the West Ogden area.
The Trackline Bike Park, pictured Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, is set to open Oct. 2. The site is located within the Trackline Economic Development district, which aims to revitalize the West Ogden area.
The Trackline Bike Park, pictured Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, is set to open Oct. 2. The site is located within the Trackline Economic Development district, which aims to revitalize the West Ogden area.
OGDEN — A new community bike park in the swiftly changing West Ogden area is set to open next week.
The Trackline Bike Park, on the northern edge of Ogden City’s Trackline Economic Development Area, will open to the public on Friday, Oct. 2. The city has a special event planned on that day from 4:30-8:30 p.m., with four different rides around the facility’s 1-mile loop trail for riders of all experiences.
The event is free, but tickets are required for each ride. To learn more and get a ticket, go to www.eventbrite.com/o/ogden-trails-network-31123082145.
Next week’s opening represents just the first phase of the bike park project. The initial iteration of the park will include single-track bike trails, numerous bike features and obstacles, and an entry kiosk and signage. The project is located in West Ogden, adjacent to the Weber River, the Centennial Trail and the Ogden Business Exchange — the latter being the centerpiece of the multimillion-dollar Trackline development.
According to Ogden Deputy Director of Community and Economic Development Brandon Cooper, the park will ultimately encompass 9 acres, built out as the Trackline development progresses. The first phase of the park was funded through a mix of city money, state grants and donations, Cooper said.
The city received a $124,778 Utah Outdoor Recreation grant, which covers about half of the total cost. Administered by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation, the grant requires a city match of equal value. According to Ogden City Council documents, the city put $70,000 in Capital Improvement Project funds toward the endeavor, and the Ogden Trails Network raised $20,000 for the project. The city transferred money from an old trails project that was never used and is using in-kind donations in the form of volunteer hours to secure the remaining matching funds.
Justin Anderson, Ogden City’s head engineer, said the park will be free and open to the public, but city-sponsored events will also be held there.
Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell said the new park, which sits on a piece of formerly vacant land, will help spur activity in a developing section of West Ogden.
The Trackline redevelopment effort includes 122 acres between 24th Street and Middleton Road from the railroad tracks to G Avenue. Beginning in the 1930s, the area was home to the Ogden livestock yards and was once a thriving economic hub. When the stock yards were shut down in the 1970s, the area quickly grew dilapidated and had been mostly uninhabited until Trackline was established by City Council action in 2013.
The development includes a mix of commercial, manufacturing and light industrial space, including a 51-acre outdoor recreation business park called the Ogden Business Exchange. The park is centered around the historic Ogden Exchange building, once the administrative home of the stock yards.
Today, a mix of local and international companies now do business out of the park, including breweries, bicycle companies and more.
“For years and years, it was just an abandoned stock yard,” Caldwell said. “And it was kind of terrifying. So to see what’s happening there right now is pretty incredible.”
