Teens plead to put the foot on the accelerator and save their BMX track

A group of Aldinga teenagers are begging their local council to give their BMX track a much needed facelift, saying it could attract families from all over the city.

A band of mates in Adelaide’s south are pleading with the Onkaparinga council to fix their BMX track, saying it could attract families from across the city.

Aldinga teen Owen Mudie, 14, says he and his mates spend almost every waking moment at the John Nicholl reserve bike jumps, but would happily spend even more if the track received a much needed face lift.

Seven teens from Aldinga are asking council to save the local BMX jumps, saying they don’t feel safe building 'illegal' jumps in the scrub. The track was built well over a decade ago and has barely been maintained since. (LtoR) Owen Mudie, with mates Jesse Cox, Ocean Wong, Dylan Shepherd, Riley Mitchell, Isaac Afonso, and Memphis Wong. Picture Dean Martin

“We’ve been trying for over two years to try and get the track rebuilt,” Mr Mudie said.

“We were told about two different dig days by council, they dropped two big mounds of dirt next to the track but then nothing has been done.”

The teens said they were sick of waiting and decided to be proactive, starting an online petition to gain the council’s attention.

“We’ve had nearly 300 signatures in two days, everyone’s been so supportive because the track has been this way for over ten years,” Mr Mudie said.

The John Nichol reserve / Dover bike jumps in Aldinga. Pic: Owen Mudie

Along with reinvigorating the existing jumps, Mr Mudie also hopes to see a drinking fountain, a purpose built shade area as well as some benches.

“We go all the way into the city to ride the jumps they have there, the same could be done here,” he said.

“We’re not asking for these huge jumps because we still want little kids to be able to come down and have a go, we just want them to be fixed, there is no reason kids and families from across Adelaide can’t come down here and enjoy it.

“We don’t feel safe building jumps out in the scrub and whenever we did they would just get bulldozed anyway, nobody wins.”

This comes after a number of ‘illegal’ BMX tracks faced the chopping block at the end of 2022, before the Infrastructure and Transport Department has backflipped on a pledge to demolish a much-loved community BMX track in Edwardstown, with the chain reaction linked to an outcry by local children and teenagers.

The Messenger contacted the Onkaparinga Council about the BMX track but were unable to comment.

You can sign the petition here.