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Medford plans west side BMX park Would be at Santo Center on Columbus Avenue By Bill Kettler West Medford kids may have their own BMX course sooner than anyone might have imagined. The Medford Parks Commission has agreed to build a course for the short, knobby-tired bikes on vacant land at the Santo Community Center, at 701 N. Columbus Ave. Construction could begin within a few weeks, said Greg Jones, parks department director. Jones said the most likely site for the course will be a patch of vacant land west of an existing parking lot near McAndrews Road. The course will be fenced to direct traffic flow inside the perimeter to minimize collisions. "We want it to be safe," he said. West Medford BMX riders have been looking for a new place to play since early January, when a popular makeshift course on private land near Jackson School was bulldozed. Twenty to 30 boys from age 11 to 18 worked to build the course over several weeks. The landowner flattened the course because he had concerns about his potential liability for injured BMXers. The parks commission decided it had to try to do something, said Dana Didericksen. "We wanted to do something for these kids," she said. "Every time they built a track it got bulldozed. It was sad." A new BMX track and skateboard park have been built in east Medford�s Bear Creek Park during the past two years, but Didericksen said it�s often difficult for west-side children arrange transportation across town to use them. Busy streets make the trip too hazardous for young children on bikes, she said. "There�s not a lot of easy bike paths (linking east and west Medford)," said Didericksen, who has lived in west Medford for 30 years. "There�s no easy way to get (to Bear Creek Park) with our grandkids. "It�s going to be nice to spread some of these activities out so that we have some of them on the west side, too. A Medford woman started a campaign to build a west-side BMX course without knowing about the Parks Commission�s plan. Ann Byerly placed a classified ad in the Mail Tribune�s announcements section encouraging readers to "Help West Side Kids." "I will donate the first $500 to help build westside BMX jump course," the ad reads. "Call with ideas and money. 773-7939" "When they took that jump away from those kids I felt really terrible," Byerly said. "If we want our kids to stay out of trouble we should do something for them." Parks director Jones said Byerly�s contribution could be used toward buying fencing for the course. The parks department has no money in its budget for fencing. "That $500 will go a long way toward some fencing," he said. Mark Graham, who designed the recently completed BMX course in Bear Creek Park, will help design the new Santo course, too. Jones said they hope to have an estimate for the cost of fencing the course within a few weeks. Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.