Orange County needs a park that is dedicated
for the use and enjoyment of road bicyclists, BMX bicyclists, skaters and skateboarders.
The City of Irvine is in the process of annexing the 4,700 acre El Toro Marine Base, which
is located in the heart of Orange County, a county notorious for urban sprawl and traffic
congestion. The City intends to set aside 4,000 acres for use as a Great Park and allow
private development of the remaining 700 acres. Within the 4,000 acres, the City has
tentatively drawn up a "Master Plan" that sets aside about 165 acres for a
sports complex. The designation of land uses within the 165 sports complex remains
organic. The Great Park Conservancy (click here
for their website http://www.orangecountygreatpark.org/home.htm ) has suggested multiple
uses, including the standard soccer, football and baseball fields. The Conservancy has
also shown an interest in setting aside acreage for use as cycling/bmx/skateboarding and
skating facility. The facility would be called the "People Powered Speedway,"
the only known non-motorized raceway dedicated for road cycling, skating, skateboarding
and bmx cycling in the United States, if not the world.
About one year ago, on August 13, 2002, the Worthington Family Trust proposed the
inclusion of the PPS within the Great Park's tentative Master Plan. Click here to see a copy of the letter (also, see below). Roger
and Ann Worthington stressed the compelling need for such a facility:
"As Orange Countys population grows, there are fewer and fewer opportunities
for bicyclists to ride safely on the streets. Every year we hear of more bicycle- related
accidents, some resulting in death. My family and I have lived in Capistrano Beach for
over six years and each year we see fewer youngsters riding bicycles. At the same time,
weve seen an explosion of subdivisions, automobiles, shopping malls, parking lots,
toll roads and streets. As congestion increases, where can children go today to learn how
to ride bicycles safely, or exercise vigorously? Where can adults go to exercise without
worrying about getting struck by a motorist? "
Orange County is famous for its beaches and surfers. It's also famous for it's
cyclists. In the recent 2003 Masters National Championships, Orange County racers
dominated in several age group categories. In the California State Championships,
virtually every gold medalist in every category hails from Orange County. Orange County
bike racers have been able to succeed despite the rapidly diminishing opportunities to
train and race safely. The PPS would help establish this County's reputation as a cyclists
mecca. At the same time, it would provide a safe and friendly venue for cyclists, as well
as other athletes, to train and compete in a first class facility.
The Great Park Conservancy, in response, created a comittee to explore the idea of
developing a PPS. The comittee included Roger Worthington and Walkie Ray. Worthington
hired an architect firm, Hatch Partnership of Austin, Texas to draft the site plans and
artistic renderings (see below).
Now that we have drawn up preliminary plans, the next step is designating specific
acreage for use as a PPS and of course financing it's construction and maintenance. The
plan is to auction off the 700 acres to private developers subject to pre-approved
conditions which require the purchasers to fund both the construction and
maintenance of
the majority of 4,000 acres as public property, which will likely be dedicated to the
City. The City will then need to find financing for only specific facilities (such as
perhaps, the golf courses).
Before the City considers specific uses within the Great Park, it will first need to
develop an overall master plan. Naturally, we'd like the PPS to be looked upon as a worthy
land use that would be included among the public swaths of land that will be built and
maintained out of the pool of private money.
The question is what can we do now, to put our name in the hat, so the planners include
the PPS in the master plan? Will other interests try to preserve a specific use within the
sports complex? Will the proponents of the PPS need to compete against the soccer and
baseball enthusiasts for precious real estate? The PPS is designed to use only 12.65
acres. As designed, the PPS will need to be situated adjacent to the same parking lot
which serves the other playing fields. Optimally, we would also want to be located near
bike lanes for easy access. Logically, it makes sense even at the master plan level to
consider the allocation of specific uses.
There's no time like the present for advocates of the PPS to encourage the City of
Irvine and others to include the PPS concept within the Master Plan.
Please write a letter supporting the PPS to the following officials:
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Please Note: These drawings are "conceptual" in nature --
they represent a possible design for the facility. The actual
design will depend up on the acreage set aside for the facility, the
nature of the topography, the available infrastructure, input from
stakeholders, and the particulars of how the facility will actually
function -- issues such as how many people will be using the
facility, will the facility be fee-for-use operation or open to the
public, and how many amenities (concession, showers, training
facility, etc.) will be provided.
As shown in these
drawings, the Speedway would consist of a 1/2 mile criterium race
course, an in-line skate park, and a BMX bicycle race course.
In addition to the sport facilities, the Speedway would include
grandstands, a concession stand, restrooms, a playscape, multiple
viewing opportunities and acres of landscaped grounds for the
enjoyment of friends, family and the public.
The Dimensions:
Location:
- The PPS would be located in the Orange County Great Park. For a map
of the proposed Great Park Land Use
Plan, please click
here [ http://www.orangecountygreatpark.org/theplan.htm ] The Plan has allotted
about 165 acres for
use as a sports park. The PPS would fit inside that space, along with baseball, soccer and
football fields, among other facilities.
Overall:
- Footprint of entire facility: 12.65 acres (550,836 square
feet)
- Length and width of entire facility: 1,448 x 368
(not including the bumped-out area occupied by the grandstands,
restrooms, vendor area, etc.)
- Area of landscaped infields (including playscape): 6.49 acres
Bike track:
- 40 wide throughout
- lap length (measured at centerline of track, without the loop
up onto the hill): 3,211 feet
- lap length (measured at centerline of track, taking the loop
up the hill): 3,343 feet
- elevation change at hill: 25 feet
- radius of curbs at the turns: 200
- continuous 12-wide sidewalk around entire perimeter of
track
Skate Park:
- Area: 36,000 square feet (0.83 acre)
- Dimensions: 180 wide by 200 across
- BMX Track:
- Area: 36,000 square feet (0.83 acre)
- Dimensions: 180 wide by 200 across
Playscape:
Vendors Emporium:
- Area: 19,264 square feet (0.44 acres)
Dimensions: 222 x 84
- Room for approximately 55 12x12 vendor
booths/tents
Grandstand Seating:
- Dimensions: 82 x 21
- Capacity for approximately 490 people
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SITE PLAN DETAIL:
(click
here for larger image)
BUILDING ELEVATION:
(click
here for larger image)
GRANDSTAND:
(click
here for larger image)
SITE PLAN:
(click
here for larger image)
August 13, 2002
Carol Simon
The Foundation for the Great Park
1100 Irvine Boulevard, #326
Tustin, CA 92780
Re: Multi-Use, 1.0 Mile, 8 corner, Non-Motor Raceway
Dear Carol:
On behalf of the Worthington Family Trust, I would like to discuss a
donation to the proposed Great Park in Irvine to be used for the
creation and operation of a multi-use, 1.0 mile, 8 corner non-motor
raceway. The raceway would be open to the public and used for
recreational and competitive bicycling, scootering, skating and running.
As Orange County’s population grows, there are fewer and fewer
opportunities for bicyclists to ride safely on the streets. Every year
we hear of more bicycle-related accidents, some resulting in death. My
family and I have lived in Capistrano Beach for over six years and each
year we see fewer youngsters riding bicycles. At the same time, we’ve
seen an explosion of subdivisions, automobiles, shopping malls, parking
lots, toll roads and streets. As congestion increases, where can
children go today to learn how to ride bicycles safely, or exercise
vigorously? Where can adults go to exercise without worrying about
getting struck by a motorist?
The Great Park presents a wonderful opportunity to help foster the
use of bicycles for recreation, sport and fun. We envision a short,
zig-zaggy course with eight turns, covering approximately one mile on
less than 20 acres of land. We can build spectator seating and a press
box for race officials and the media. The raceway would be open all year
round and would be used as a training facility for youngsters and
recreational riders, as well as a nationally renown criterium course for
professional and amateur racers. The interior of the raceway would be
filled with gardens, ponds and warm-up exercise equipment.
I know of hundreds of cycling enthusiasts who have long dreamed of
such a raceway. The Worthington Trust would like to help bring this
vision to life. We are willing to donate substantial sums to help build
a raceway that will provide a safe venue for cyclists, runners and
skaters of all ages and abilities to train and compete. There are over
55 million cyclists in the U.S. and cycling is the third most popular
sport in terms of participation behind walking and swimming. Everyone it
seems owns a bike -- now we need to make sure bike owners have a safe
and fun place to train, ride and compete.
We would like to meet with you to discuss this proposal at your
convenience.
Sincerely yours,
Roger and Ann Worthington
Trustees of the Worthington Family Trust |
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