First Legacy Project for Richmond 2015 Announced

By now, just about everyone has heard about Richmond2015 Legacy Project at PSP.   The idea is simple, make Richmond a destination for mountain biking by being one of only 10

or 11 IMBA Ride-Centers in existence!What is an IMBA Ride Center?  Is a prime destination spot for mountain biking that not only has trails for riding, but lends itself to enrich the experiences of mountain biking by creating a more proactive environment.  The idea for the IMBA Ride Center is to include both Pocahontas State Park (PSP) and James River Park System (JRPS) as the destination spot.  Plans of linking both systems via road and off-road bicycle travel are being considered. The plan is calling for the Northern section of PSP, just South of Courthouse Rd to receive the largest amount of changes, including: 

• 100 spot parking lot

• Hand Cycle Station / Storage

• Hand Cycle Trail

• Approx 30 mls of new mountain bike trail

• Skills Area (both for Hand-Cycles training and obstacles)

• Shelter

• 3 Acre Staging Area

• Restrooms / Showers

• Possibility for a small repair shop

Estimated costed for the Legacy Project range from $800k to $1.2Million.  But 1st a series of obstacles must be hurdled, the least of which the Master Plan for PSP must be changed.  PSP

revisits the Master Plan every 5 years and the last plan for set forth in 2011; so to move forward, a proposal and public hearing must 1st happen (happened on Aug 1st) followed by the state of Va. to revisit the old master plan, create an amendment, send it in for a vote, and approve or disapprove.  

Even if approved, the cost of the project is the single largest factor for failure or success! The Gov.has pledged $50k of funding towards the project and this is to be matched from Dominion Power, but that still leaves at least a $700k balance to complete the project.  

The other issue will be volunteers; All projects related mountain bike trails are from the efforts of volunteer groups, from downtown Richmond to PSP to the mountains in the West part of Va.  Without volunteers working in their spare time, none of the trails we ride our bikes on would be here today. NONE of THEM.  It takes thousands of hours of work to complete these trail and it simply can not be understated that in order to get Legacy Project 2015 from idea phase to completed, it will take thousands more and you help will be needed. 

That said, ETA for the project (if approved) is April 2015.We are a long way to getting there, but it will also be upon us before you can blink an eye. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation should be voting on the amendment to the PSP Master Plan by early Sept. Once given the "OK", Local groups like the Friends of PSP and Richmond-MORE will be setting their bars high for fundraising events! 

Talk about this on CCVA.