Community Grows Through Bike Park by katey goins and alex elhilow Devastation turns to flourishing unity at the Mount Washington Bike Park.
clear-cut plan and vision for what she wanted she continued on with what she wanted to do. “Going into this process, let me be clear, I had no clue what I signed up for. It was driven by a mother’s love and to keep Prescott’s memory alive. At the time, I never thought of the logistics and the mental strain it would require. I was grieving daily and this project helped keep me at bay. Initially, I believed since it was a sad story, the city would just be okay with it and would donate all the money. That was the furthest from reality. It took a business level approach, ingenuity and getting up every day visualizing the finished park,” O’Bryan said.
Following the death of Prescott Goodman in 2012, mother Chrystal O’Bryan built Prescott Lee Goodman (PLG) Bike Park for anyone and everyone in tribute. Grieving the death of her son, it wasn’t easy to build the bike park. However O’Bryan wasn’t alone as the city of Mount Washington rallied around her. Through this devastating loss, O’Bryan unknowingly was able to create a growing skate and bike community in a small town.
Not only was it a lot of work on her end, the community pitched in. “The city of Mount Washington was so valuable in our success. The support was unexplainable and I still hold a special bond when I see the city’s administration in town. They helped us by providing monetary funding, keeping open minds, and focusing on the benefits instead of the negative. I think in the end, they each enjoyed this project above many. It brought an edgier side to the community and offered a modern appeal for tourists,” O’Bryan said. The community raised around $50,000 for the skatepark fundraising.
There were multiple difficult steps and decisions to make when trying to get a skatepark built. “Once we had our baseline, I made an appointment with the current mayor at the time, Joetta Calhoun. We needed to get her buy-in and invited her to our Bikes with Wings meeting to discuss the benefits and if there was funding available to move forward,” O’Bryan said. Once she got the okay, the next step was to find where exactly to put the park.
Different locations were offered up as potential sites for the new bike park before settling on it being placed in the already-existing Mount Washington The bike park is a place that is hoped to City Park. Where the bike change the lives of everyone, park currently resides appealed whether they partake in it or Jumping the “box” at the skatepark, Junior Jack Sappenfield does an “X Up”. An “X Up” is a trick where the rider twists their arms to make an “X” shape while in the air. “PLG is different to O’Bryan for a variety of not. “My favorite part is showing because it’s always chill. If you go up to Louisville [skatepark] theres always a million people,” said reasons. “Ideally, it’s wise to put the community that change can Sappenfield. Photo: Katey Goins skateparks in a functioning city be good. It’s an opportunity park. You have adequate parking, to let this group of enthusiasts lighting, and bathroom facilities on site that we didn’t have to demonstrate their talents as well as shift the minds of people pay for. These are amenities that can eat a lot of your budget who have unfortunately labeled them as delinquents,” O’Bryan if your location is not already equipped. Behind the school said. (Mount Washington Elementary) there’s also ball fields that Prescott played on many times.” O’Bryan said. The process allowed O’Bryan to learn many things about business, faith and perseverance that she hopes can carry Through every step of the way, O’Bryan was thinking about the over into the lives of others. “I hope we lead by example for best ways to benefit the kids in Mount Washington in a way that others. I hope we’re able to prove that through hard work and Goodman never got to experience and would have loved. “Many perseverance, anyone can achieve their goals. I’m an average kids only have their bikes and skateboards to travel with, which everyday person who loves her children like most parents. I supports why we had to look at where the skatepark would be knew nothing about skateparks or non-profit organizations, but located because of roadway safety,” O’Bryan said. I kept believing in my committee and my faith. My dad always said to me, if you want to get through a steel wall, through It took time and hard work to push O’Bryan to get through faithful prayers, the Lord will create a way for you to get and accomplish what she could. Although she didn’t have a through that wall. He was right and I made it to the completion 7
