By Austin Smith

When you think of Cleveland sports, icons like LeBron James and the NBA champion Cavaliers, the MLB's American League champion Indians and the NFL's hapless Browns come to mind; not dirt biking. But that is about to change in a major way.

On January 23, the Cleveland City Council passed legislation allowing the construction of $2.3 million dirt bike track on the city's east side. The track originally proposed by Mayor Frank Jackson would be the first of its kind in the country.

Supporters of the plan say that the park will give riders a place to practice tricks that endanger those on public streets and draw bikers from across the country to visit the one-of-a-kind facility. Eventually, supporters envision hosting official motocross races and creating a signature event for the city. The track is controversial, however, for a variety of reasons.

First, dirt bikes and ATVs are considered a major nuisance by many residents of Cleveland, and riding them is illegal on city streets if they are missing basic features such as headlights, mirrors, brake lights, a horn, turn signals and a license plate. Many of those features are not standard on these types of vehicles, since they're designed to be driven off-road and during the daytime.
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Riders without a way to haul their dirt bikes or ATVs to tracks that can be miles and miles away have used public parks or ridden in the streets, which has led to at least two deaths in Cleveland since 2010 and many more in other areas like Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Council members said the park would likely not change that issue or improve safety. Those same riders who don't currently tow their bikes still wouldn't have the ability when the park opens and would continue to illegally use city streets to get to the new facility. Other members suggested prosecuting those who break the law, rather than give them a sanctuary and encourage the growth of the sport.

The second issue that has arisen is maintenance. Cleveland already struggles to maintain other venues in the city -- a water park was closed all summer due to black mold growth. How could Cleveland officials possibly add another massive facility to the list?

Finally, there are concerns over noise pollution. The site of the proposed track, Marion Motley Playfield at East 73rd Street, is surrounded by a forested area and dips down from the road into a bowl, which should help lessen noise from the park. However, the residents of the nearby Garden Valley neighborhood are worried about the constant roars from the motors.



Despite those concerns, the legislation has passed and construction appears to be on its way. Ultimately, leaders said the chance to turn a largely ignored public space into a place where riders can use as an alternative to the streets and terrain was enough to outweigh the risks.

Cleveland, start your engines