Pump Track Proposed In Tredyffrin Township

TREDYFFRIN, PA — Two students presented a proposal Tuesday night to the Tredyffrin Township supervisors to construct a Bike/Skills Pump Track at Mill Road Park.

The supervisors praised Dominick “Dom” Pecora, 13, an eighth-grader at Valley Forge Middle School, and Ronan Lynch, 14, a freshman at Conestoga High School, for an excellent presentation, but reserved making a final decision until further review.

Julie Gosse, chairwoman, thanked the students, noting there have been a lot of enthusiam for the bike track.

There were about two dozen supporters in the audience and the township had received numerous emails in favor of the project.

William F. Martin, township manager, explained that additional work behind the scenes is necessary before the project can proceed.

The board agreed to discuss the project at its February meeting.

The students have been working for several months on a proposal to construct a three-level pump track at Mill Road Park on a 55.9-acre tract that has a baseball and soccer field.

Pump tracks allow riders to use an up-and-down pumping motion to propel the bike forward instead of pedaling. The tracks have hilly dirt inclines covering about a half to 1-acre.

Arthur Zadrozny, a township resident, and member of the Chesterbrook Civic Association is working with the students on the project.

“We in Chesterbrook think it’s great,” Zadrozny said.

Zadrozny offered to work with the township to submit a request for state funding.

The students presented a powerpoint presentation in which they described the project, emphasizing that safety is a primary concern.

“Everyone will be wearing helmets,” Pecora said. “It’s super cool to wear a helmet.”

They said the location is close to the Chester Valley Trail and will have three levels.

The proposed location is on a slope in the back area of the park between not near the soccer and baseball fields.

The students presented a proposal with a price tag of $94,500.

Supervisor David Miller said the presentation was excellent. He said that he knows there is an interest because there were issues with residents trying to build tracks.

“This is an amenity where there is a lot of demand for in Chesterbrook,” Miller said.

Galen Day, president of the park and recreation board, said the board supports the project.

"We feel that anything that gets this generation away from the Xbox is something we should support," he said.