The Permian Basin Bicycle Association (PBBA) first broke ground on the Odessa Mountain Bike Park in 2011. For mountain bikers in Odessa and nearby Midland, the park represents one of the very few areas to ride for miles.
And, here soon, locals could be losing their beloved mountain bike park, in favor of the land being used for residential and commercial development. PBBA started a petition to save the park, which now has more than 1,500 signatures.
But will it be enough?
Trails or townhomes
“The Odessa City Manager very recently informed the Permian Basin Bicycle Association that the City intends to terminate our lease so the property can be developed for residential and commercial use,” reads the petition started by PBBA.
To be clear, it seems that “informed” is different from “is happening.” According to the petition, the city will have to officially give PBBA “written notice” that the lease is ending. Once the notice is given, PBBA will be able to “control and operate the property for another six months.”
PBBA describes Odessa Mountain Bike Park as a “cherished gem” located in city limits. Currently, the park contains 11 miles of singletrack, spanning multiple skill levels and traversing varied terrain.
“It is a special place for more than five hundred local mountain bikers,” the PBBA petition continues. “It is also frequented by scores of hikers, trail runners, dog walkers, the local NICA [mountain bike] race team, and local high school cross country runners.”
Along with providing access to singletrack, PBBA says that the park is an important part of the outdoor community, providing a needed green space for Odessa, Midland, and surrounding communities. The destruction of the park will “truly diminish the community’s quality of life.”
Along with the trails themselves, PBBA has installed a pavilion, picnic tables, and storage containers for park operations. The club has maintained and operated the park over the years, all at “no cost to the city.” They would like to see the park saved and enhanced, rather than having the land sold off to private developers.
Singletracks has reached out to PBBA for comment.
Could selling the park actually mean more mountain biking opportunities in the future?
Odessa City Manager Aaron Smith commented to Singletracks via email about the potential closure.
Should the project move forward and the park be relocated to another location or even multiple locations, the only goal would be to expand mountain biking, improve mountain biking, and make mountain biking more accessible and available to more of the residents of Odessa. I look forward to working with the bicycle association for outcomes that are beneficial to our entire community. Perhaps we could even find a way to make mountain biking available at no charge.
So, there is a potential for even more mountain biking trails, but it would apparently come at the expense of the current ones. We followed up with Smith about timelines, assuming that most mountain bikers wouldn’t want to lose 11 miles of trails for an eventual “expand mountain biking” goal.
As of publication, we did not hear back from Smith. We will keep you updated on any responses from Smith or PBBA.
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