The City of Boise will soon marry two of its residents’ favorite passions: mountain bikes and dogs.
The foot of Military Reserve southeast of the VA medical center will boast two of Boise’s newest parks. The current archery range will be relocated and converted into a fully developed dog park.
Just south of it, mountain bikers of all ages and abilities will be able to ride through trails and over obstacles.
“It’s across from a park, there’s a lot of parking opportunity there. It’s very close to a neighborhood, so there could be a tremendous amount of potential for a lot of walk up use of the park,” says Boise’s Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway.
The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation is funding the entire bike skills park before it’s given over to the city to manage. The organization has forged similar partnerships with the city, having supported Boise’s Whitewater Park and Rhodes Skate Park in the past.
Both the bike and dog parks sit in a 100-year flood basin, but Holloway says they’re designing the spaces to withstand such a natural disaster.
“We’re also working with the design firm so that if there is any water that comes down, not just a [100-year flood] that some of the components are designed in such a way that the water would move around the components and wouldn’t take the components out,” he says.
City officials will hold a meeting April 4 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Dick Eardley Senior Center to get feedback from community members about what they’d like to see for both parks.
It’s not clear how much the bike skills park will cost, but the city is fronting $250,000 for the dog park. Holloway hopes both will be constructed by fall.
Follow James Dawson on Twitter @RadioDawson for more local news.
Copyright 2018 Boise State Public Radio
