Sydney BMX bike jumps battle heats up as council stands firm

Kids are facing off against councils in the battle to build BMX and mountain bike tracks in Sydney parks. But who is in the right?

Building a bike jump is something of a rite of passage for Aussie kids.

But youngsters are coming across opposition in the way of their local council as the popularity of the sport booms.

In Kellyville, The Hills Shire Council has knocked down local residents’ attempts to resurrect a 1980s BMX track at Martin Knight Reserve.

A spokesman from the council said it will instead “consider” upgrading the track “as part of the 2023/24 Works Program.”

A group of Kellyville kids enjoying their bike tracks at Martin Knight Reserve.

Meanwhile, bored inner city kids were up to the same tricks during last year’s lockdown, creating a BMX track in Rushcutters Bay Park and a mountain bike trail in Sydney Park (Alexandria).

City of Sydney Council employees laid mulch over the Rushcutters Bay BMX track on several occasions last year.

But they had a change of heart after they were inundated with pleas from parents, who raised the importance of the need for off-road bike riding areas.

City of Sydney Council has since passed a motion pledging to look into the feasibility of the tracks.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore has also written to the Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes, asking him to provide them with a list of suitable sites.

(L-R): Indiana Hanrahan, Jack Cameron and Linus Brawn at the BMX track at Rushcutters Bay Park

Back at Kellyville, in The Hills Shire, Matthew Smart, who lives next to Martin Knight Reserve, spoke of how he loved watching all the kids getting outdoors during last year’s lockdown.

“I’d get home from work and (see) all my shovels and wheelbarrows all out in the park with the kids hard at it all, all happily working together building jumps and friendships,” Mr Smart recalled.

Another Kellyville local, Nikki O’Reilly, remembers how “heartwarming” it was “to see kids of all ages coming together to make this tiny section of the Reserve work for them.”

“They had a purpose, they started talking to each other, making new friends, a common goal became their cause, a place to have fun, to do some jumps, a place to be,” Mrs O’Reilly said.

Nikki O'Reilly, a local Kellyville mum has been leading the charge for Council to rebuild the bike tracks

“It brought a lot of joy in an otherwise bleak time to see the kids outside happy, laughing (and) not attached to their screens — it was like old-fashioned times, when I was growing up and we were outside all the time.

“I’d see kids flying past my house on bikes with shovels and buckets … and the park came back to life … (it) turned into what it should be: a local park for the local community.”

However, the council said after receiving complaints workers flattened the track.

The bike tracks at Martin Knight Reserve were flattened by Council in September 2021

Spurred on by her disappointment, Mrs O’Reilly reached out to council and State Government Ministers, petitioning them to reinstate the bike tracks.

The council told them they should instead use the the BMX track at Castle Hill.

But Tyler Stanley Cooper, aged 10, is desperate to see the bike tracks he loved back at Martin Knight Reserve.

“I have a new mountain bike and there is nowhere local with jumps that we can ride to,” Tyler said.

Tyler, aged 10, in action riding his bike at the Reserve

Matthew Smart said flattening the bike tracks was a heartbreaking shame.

“The day after the council sent out a ranger, there were no kids, no laughs, just quiet,” he said.

A spokesman for the Hills Shire Council said the bike tracks were flattened in response to community concerns.

“Council received complaints during the lockdown period and school holidays about residents digging their own jumps at Martin Knight Reserve,” he said. “The complaints related to the safety of the jumps and the nuisance it caused to surrounding residents.”

Sydney’s Deputy Lord Mayor, Jess Scully, is all for the bike tracks

Back in the city, Sydney’s Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Jess Scully is championing the bike tracks.

“Right now we have an opportunity to build on the growing passion for BMX and mountain bike riding which we’ve seen bubbling up in the inner city during the lockdown,” Cr Scully said.

“Our challenge at the City is always in finding safe and sustainable ways to balance the competing needs for space, the desire for looser and more free play spaces, preserving our environment and managing risk to keep the whole community feeling safe and supported.

“I’m glad to hear staff are working on this by looking at opportunity across the whole City: I hope they’ll work with the community to design new ways to bring these kinds of facilities to life.”