ESCONDIDO — The city is once again seeking bids for construction of the long-awaited John Masson Memorial Bike Park after recently rejecting bids from four companies.
The planned 4.6-acre bike park would be built on an undeveloped portion of the 40-acre Jesmond Dene Park, where local residents currently participate in off-road biking activities. The park is located on North Broadway at the northern end of the city.
The project took shape in 2020, when the City Council approved up to $271,303 in Proposition 68 grant funding for the bike park. At the time, the council also chose to name the facility in honor of the late Councilmember John Masson.
Because the community surrounding the bike park does not qualify as a severely disadvantaged community, the city was required to provide a $70,000 match. The city used American Rescue Plan Act funding to fulfill that requirement.
In 2024, the city hired Kimley-Horn for about $66,000 to provide project management and design services for the bike park.
This past spring, the city issued a request for bids and received four proposals: $1.75 million from Sitka Construction Group, $2.11 million from RGC General Engineering, $2.49 million from DLF Construction and $2.98 million from American Ramp Company.
Of the four bidders, only one met all of the city’s requirements for the project. However, just days before bids were opened, staff discovered a requirement that bidders be members of the Union Cycliste Internationale, or UCI. Only one bidder was a member.
Staff ultimately recommended rejecting all four bids and rebidding the project without the UCI requirement to allow for a more competitive process. The City Council unanimously approved the decision July 29 as part of its consent calendar without discussion.
According to the staff report, city staff “intends to provide more visibility and outreach to the bike park contracting community” during the new bidding process.
Once completed, the bike park will include a pump and jump track, skills track, and kids track, along with benches and multiple viewing areas, a multiuse trail around a portion of the park’s perimeter, water bottle filling stations, a bike fix-it station and lodgepole fencing.
“The proposed bike park would provide a safe, designated place for users to practice and develop their bike skills,” states the project’s initial draft study.
The city anticipates that people currently using the undeveloped portion of the property for off-road biking would use the bike park once it is completed, along with new users. According to the project map, the open dirt area frequently used by remote-control car drivers appears set to remain as is for now, while the bike park would be constructed toward the western end of the park.
The bike park’s design is based on input from various community stakeholders, including city staff, park users and local residents. Its construction will also use “high-quality materials to minimize maintenance and ensure durability and longevity.”
Construction was originally anticipated to begin earlier this year but has been delayed. Staff anticipates the project will take about four months to complete, including site preparation, demolition, grading, paving and landscaping.
Construction will involve equipment such as a backhoe, front loader, excavator, dump trucks, equipment trucks, air compressors, hydraulic pumps, asphalt boom pump trucks, and asphalt and concrete delivery trucks entering and exiting Jesmond Dene Park.
Once completed, the bike park will only be open for daytime use. The project does not include overhead or wayfinding lighting.
The closest bike skills park is Bradley Bike Park in San Marcos. Other bike skills parks in the county include Luiseno Bike Park in Pauma Valley, Sweetwater Bike Park in Bonita, Greg Cox Bike Park in Chula Vista and Pacific Highlands Ranch Pumptrack in San Diego.
Carlsbad’s Veterans Memorial Park, currently under construction, will also include a bike track when completed.
