Mountain bikers will build trails on whatever scrap of land is available: on old landfills, along drainage ditches, in small strips of trees sandwiched between highways, and even under interstate overpasses. The city of Louisville, Kentucky, is following in the steps of prominent projects like Seattle’s I-5 Colonnade by turning what was once a sea of trash into a top-tier bike park.
Revitalizing a run-down community
The new bike park, known as the “Highland Park Bike Park,” will be located in the community of Highland Park. What was once a thriving neighborhood has been industrialized by the construction of the airport, highway developments, and a massive UPS distribution center. As a result, the neighborhood fell into neglect. “There were homeless encampments and crime. People in this area did not feel safe,” said Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.
“That is not acceptable. It’s not acceptable here. It’s not acceptable in any part of our city,” said Greenberg. As a result, the city has worked to clean up the area, including relocating “families that are experiencing homelessness” to a new “temporary shelter” established with the help of Volunteers of America and PNC Bank, according to Greenberg.
The city and the local community view the bike park’s construction as a way to turn an area that was once a sore spot into a true community resource that will allow locals to connect, get outside, move their bodies, and improve their health. “[The bike park has] taken a space that was viewed negatively by the neighborhood and created something positive out of it,” said Derek Fetko, President of the Louisville chapter of the Kentucky Mountain Bike Association (KyMBA). “When we’ve done community meetings, everybody has been extremely welcoming to the idea of it.”
Due to the industrial development, “a lot of surrounding neighborhoods there [are] a little underserved in terms of recreational opportunities,” said Fetko. “I see a lot of kids where they don’t have anything to do, and then they end up in the wrong places. And something like this is something that can give a kid confidence. I think really, he can build a lot of skills and communicate with others.”
What will the Highland Park Bike Park offer?
The design for the Highland Park Bike Park was created by PumpTrax USA and Pillar Design Studios, and it calls for four distinct zones beneath the I-264 overpass. This progressive bike park will allow riders to build their skills through the four different zones. All four zones will consist of asphalt-covered pump tracks and jumps to reduce future maintenance.
Zone 1 will provide a beginner pump track and tot track designed for kids and younger/newer riders.
Zones 2 and 3 will ride the line between beginner and intermediate, with some jumps integrated into a pump track. The jumps will be “rollable by your less experienced rider, but maybe your more advanced rider’s gonna, clear the whole jump and double up over the rollers.”
Zone 4 will be the advanced area, with a steeper drop-in and two different lines in the pump track — one smaller and one bigger. “You get, like, two jumps to a 180 berm, then maybe one or two jumps coming back,” said Fetko.
Finally, skilled riders will also enjoy “an advanced line that will run perpendicular to the four zones, [that] has several jumps in it, so it’ll be a longer jump line,” said Fetko. “I think there’s like eight or nine jumps at least. I think you’ll get to the end of that, and you’re going to be huffing and puffing. It’s going to be a pretty good run of jumps, and that integrates back into the advanced jump area.”
Kentucky can receive some serious rain events, as recent flooding throughout the state highlights. It’s a faux pas to ride muddy trails in this region of the country, and the Highland Park Bike Park will give local riders something to do when the trails are too wet. “The nice thing about our [bike park] being covered, we do hope that it can be designed where days, where it’s maybe rained a lot, and our trails are muddy, you can still ride it then,” said Fetko. While having the bike park sheltered from the rain will be a boon, stormwater control beneath the overpass is a challenge that must be addressed during construction.
Project cost and timeline
Building all four bike park zones is estimated to cost $700,000. While the bike park has been fully approved by the city, the construction timeline is currently dependent on funding. Fetko said that he anticipates funding for the park coming from both public and private sources, but that currently, “We’ll have to wait till the 2026 budget to see, hopefully, the city can allocate some funds to go toward this.”
In addition to funds from the city, a dedicated nonprofit group, known as the Friends of Highland Park Bike Park, has been established to lead fundraising efforts. They’ll attempt to raise funds from corporate donors and apply for grant money.
Since funding still hasn’t been secured, the construction timeline will depend on when money starts rolling in. “As long as it gets money allocated, I’m hoping that we see construction started in ’26 or ’27,” said Fetko. While that might seem like a long time from now, “I think nobody ever really understands how long this stuff can take, right? Because they’re just like, ‘Oh, you’re going to cover it with asphalt. Like, how much work can that really take?’ Right? But you have everything from the original design to the revisions you have to work with, storm control, drainage, you know, this is something that is underneath the highway. So that is a Federal Highway Administration. There are certain rules and stipulations that come with that too.”
Depending on fundraising efforts, it’s possible that all four zones could be built at once, or they could be built progressively as funding rolls in. If you want to see the bike park built sooner rather than later, be sure to donate to KyMBA’s bike park fund.
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