Land Bank Gets First Look At Bike Park Concepts

The Nantucket Land Bank Commission will get its first look at potential concepts for a proposed bike park being developed at a 25-acre property it owns off Milestone Road.

Designed by a team of consultants led by the Horsley Witten Group, the three concepts under consideration all feature variations of several elements, including a pump track, a jumps area, a "flow trail," a progressive skills development area, and a dedicated bicycle playground for kids. 

The property, located just east of the Holdgate Partners pit and Tetawkimmo Drive off Milestone Road, has been owned by the Land Bank since 1989. The possibility of constructing a bike park at the property, first floated in 2023, began with an idea “to give the youth of Nantucket a healthy outlet," Land Bank Commissioner Neil Paterson said at the time.

Land Bank executive director Rachael Freeman said the bike park will be intended for non-motorized bicycles and that "the park is not designed to accommodate e-bikes."

The commission will publicly review the three concepts presented by the project consults on Tuesday, January 28 during the Land Bank's regular meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. at its office at 22 Broad Street. A community meeting will be held at some point in March.

If all goes according to plan, the Land Bank and its consultants will spend the rest of the year engaged in design and permitting, with the goal of starting construction in 2026.

The three concepts have been dubbed "Clean," "Shred," and "Stomp."

The Nantucket Islands Land Bank was established by an act of the state legislature in 1983, the first program of its kind in the United States, with a mission to acquire land for open space, agriculture, and recreational uses through a 2 percent tax on real estate transfers. Over the past 40 years, it has acquired more than 3,400 acres of land that is now open to the public.

"Despite there being a thriving culture of biking on the island, there is no existing bike park where people can build and practice skills to be used both on and off the island," according to the Land Bank's project website. "The Land Bank is exploring creating a bike park for all ages and abilities to fill this need."