Revealed: Where North Sydney Council is planning new BMX tracks

A battle between BMX enthusiasts and environmental groups has taken a new turn with a north shore council planning to build a dedicated track to stop unauthorised tracks being built in bushland.

North shore BMX riders could soon have a purpose built facility to ply their skills under a council proposal to address the surging in popularity of the sport and a spike in illegal tracks appearing in the local landscape.

A rise in young people taking up BMX riding across the last two years has prompted a new plan by North Sydney Council to build a dedicated bike track at one of four potential sites in the local government area.

The proposal is partly aimed at addressing the proliferation in unauthorised bike tracks built by crafty BMXers during the Covid-19 pandemic including at St Leonards Park, Forsyth Park, Grasmere Reserve and Lodge Road Reserve.

Similar unauthorised tracks were also set up in bushland in neighbouring council regions including George’s Heights and Reid Park in Mosman and Gladesville Park in Hunters Hill – sparking opposition from some residents and bushcare groups over environment impacts, littering and safety.

A meeting of North Sydney Council’s sport and recreation committee last week considered four potential sites for a new, dedicated track including a southern section of Forsyth Park in Neutral Bay along with sections of Green Park, Grasmere Reserve and Brightmore Reserve in Cammeray.

A photo of one of the jumps that appeared in Forsyth Park last year.

The North Shore Times understands Forsyth Park – where the current unauthorised BMX jump track is due to be demolished by the council due to impacts on existing infrastructure – was deemed the most suitable by members attending the meeting.

Meeting chair and local councillor MaryAnn Beregi said young people would be consulted in the process of building a dedicated track including on the design of features such as ramps and jumps.

“There’s a need for the youth of North Sydney to have facilities like this because we already have a shortage of active open space and they’ve got to be able to ride their bikes somewhere,” she said.

“As long as we pick the right space I think we can find a happy medium where kids can be kids and also respectful of the environment. We’re not looking at putting in lights or banging music or anything like that.

“If there is a view it can be built we’d like it to be youth driven and potentially provide materials young people could use to build the tracks. That would be the ideal outcome.”

But not everyone was on board with the BMX tracks, with members of the body corporate at an adjoining unit block of Forsyth Park previously calling for the council to remove the makeshift track that was built at the site.

A photo of the proposed location at Forsyth Park (in yellow) and the location of the current unauthorised track (in red).

North Sydney councillor William Bourke said the council had to strike a “balance” between the environment, the needs of young people and other sporting groups that rely on the use of local parks.

“The main theme across all sports at the moment is the lack of space we have in North Sydney and the availability of land to put any new facilities in,” he said.

“With increased density, we have netball and hockey clubs that can’t find new spaces and a bike track would take up more space.”

Green Park in Cammeray is also being considered as a location.

A photo of the track that was built in Forsyth Park last year.

North Sydney councillor Jilly Gibson was supportive of a dedicated facility, saying it would encourage young people, particularly teenagers, to be physically active.

“It’s a matter of equity because we don’t have in our council area a lot of facilities set aside for teenagers – kids get playgrounds, adults get sporting facilities but teenagers are left out of the loop,” she said.

“It’s healthy for them and gets them out of their bedrooms and off the screens, socialising with their friends, and getting some exercise.”

North Sydney Council said the current jump area at Forsyth Park was planned to be demolished as it is causing damage to infrastructure.

The number of unauthorised tracks soared during Covid-19 lockdowns.

In a letter to Ms Gibson last year, one local BMX youngster said a track at the park should be made permanent.

“I got back into BMX riding after seeing the Olympic Games in Tokyo and ever since then I wanted to compete in the 2032 freestyle BMX,” the rider wrote.

“Please can you ask the council to keep the ramp? “We will take as much care as possible”.

The dedicated track is due to be subject to consultation between the council’s youth services and partnerships co-ordinator and local BMX riders to determine the best locations for a facility.

The proposal will then be considered at a general council meeting, expected later this year.