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Work underway on mountain bike track in Black Diamond

The Town of Black Diamond is preparing to host mountain bike races for the 2023 Alberta Summer Games.

Construction is underway for a mountain bike track in Black Diamond that will be used for the 2023 Alberta Summer Games. 

The five-kilometre track will start and end at the pump track and go down the escarpment on municipal reserve land behind the area. The majority of the track will be on Turner Valley Golf Course land

Care was taken to keep damage to natural areas at a minimum, said Les Quinton, parks and recreation manager with the Town of Black Diamond 

“We tried to go in and around trees, so that we tried to do the least amount of damage as possible constructing it,” Quinton said of the portion of the track that is on the escarpment. 

Crews had been using a mini excavator to work along the slope, and a skid steer was used to level and clear some areas. 

On the escarpment, a couple of trees were weakened due to construction and needed to come down, Quinton said, but crews “tried to do the smallest amount of interference with the natural environment that we could.” 

The next phase of construction involves clearing some existing trails to make them safe for mountain bikers. 

“The equipment work is all done, now the handwork gets to start,” said Quinton, who estimated about 40 per cent of the track will use existing trails. 

Right now, the Town is looking for volunteers to help with handwork and trail clearing. Anybody interested in helping can contact the Town, he said. 

"We'll get a list of tasks and try to get some people to give us a hand to finish it off,” he said, adding that it will be at least three weeks until the track is complete. 

The portion of track on the escarpment was built one-metre wide, but Quinton said that when it grows in on the edges, the final width will be closer to half a metre wide. 

"So that’s exactly where we need it to be,” he said, “so they're not banging their handlebars or catching branches.”  

He looks forward to seeing the track finished and people using it this summer. 

“The more people we get to use it, to try to break it in, (that will) make it better for people that are going to participate in the Games,” he said. 

Co-hosted by Okotoks and Black Diamond, the 2023 Alberta Summer Games will take place from July 20-23.

Work is also progressing on the expansion of the nearby pump track. 


Robert Korotyszyn

About the Author: Robert Korotyszyn

Robert Korotyszyn covers Okotoks and Foothills County news for WesternWheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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