Wyndham City Council: No current budget for mountain bike track after Point Cook kids prepare petition

Kids in Melbourne’s west who had their homemade bike tracks destroyed by the local council could be forced to wait years for a proper track to be built.

Point Cook kids in the City of Wyndham are begging for a mountain bike park as a space to have harmless fun after council workers went to great lengths to ruin improvised jumps and tracks across the city. Picture: Supplied

A group of teens in Melbourne’s west who had their homemade bike tracks bulldozed by the local council could be forced to wait years to have a proper facility built with budget restrictions set to put their dream on hold.

The Point Cook bike riders in the booming Wyndham region worked hard to gather signatures to help get a mountain bike riding facility built after the council went to extreme lengths to stop them from creating their own tracks and jumps.

However, Wyndham Council is set to knock back the request at its meeting on Tuesday night, with a report noting there was no money in the budget and the sport had limited participation in the region.

The Herald Sun revealed Wyndham City Council workers had installed boulders and flattened bike jumps built by Point Cook teens earlier this year.

David Campagna, who helped his son Max and his mates prepare the petition, said he was disappointed when he learned of the council’s proposed decision to refer it to future budgets and said the report had overlooked a number of matters.

“To suggest there is not money around is hard to believe, we have seen the council pour money into other sports facilities, and into playgrounds and foot paths,” Mr Campagna said.

“Kids are crying out for something positive to do, we have community members worried about teens loitering or turning to crime but we do not have enough outlets for teenagers despite to massive population boom in Wyndham … I also find it hard to believe less than half a per cent of people are interested in this sport, about a third of our residents are under 20.

“We need these facilities built close to communities, to rely on parents to travel long distances is precisely why kids struggle to find positive ways to spend their time.”

Point Cook parents claim there are not enough facilities for teens in the booming region. Picture: Nilsson Jones

The report said analysis from the Wyndham Sports Strategy suggested only 0.34 per cent of Wyndham residents participated in mountain biking activities regularly.

However, an updated version of the Wyndham Sports Strategy 2045 (currently under review) has identified the need to develop at least one mountain bike facility across Wyndham to meet demand.

It said tracks relied on existing landscape contours to help riders generate speed and while there was some varied elevation, Wyndham’s overall landscape was flat and careful consideration would be needed to select a site and assess community appetite to drop-in soil.

It noted that councils at Geelong and Maribyrnong were able to establish successful medium size facilities and the You Yangs Regional Park provided a regional destination for riders.

Petitioners were encouraged to actively participate in engagement and feedback opportunities once the draft of the updated Wyndham Sports Strategy 2045 is released for public exhibition next year.

Wyndham city councillors are expected to refer a mountain bike track for future budget considerations.

The petition had 99 signatures but only 72 were “valid”.

The report recommended council referred the matter to the next review of the Wyndham Sports Strategy 2045, scheduled for mid-2024, and future budget deliberations.

Councillors are expected to endorse the officer’s recommendation on Tuesday night.