Baltimore group visits Pa. dirt bike parks
Baltimore group visits Pa. dirt bike parks
Some Baltimore City leaders went on a fact-finding mission Saturday to try to find a way to set up a safe place for dirt bike riders to ride legally.
Baltimore City Councilman Pete Welch led a group to Pennsylvania with the American Motorcyclist Association.
The descriptions include skillful and acrobatic to menacing and unsafe. Baltimore has tried to keep dirt bike riders off city streets, but outlawing what they do hasn't worked.
"Kids want to have a safe place to ride without being chased, harassed. No threats whatsoever," said Steven Burden with Wildout Wheelie Boyz.
The group is seeking other options to see how two dirt bike parks operate. The visits were planned prior to the death of 23-year-old Baltimore Ravens cornerback Tray Walker, who died of injuries he suffered when, police said, he was riding a dirt bike on a Miami street and collided with an SUV.
"This is exactly what we don't want in Baltimore. We want to keep families safe, dirt bike riders safe and the community safe," Welch said.
At Happy Ramblers Motorcycle Club in Hanover, they saw an off-road race track built on 8 to 10 acres.
"I go fast, I hit the gas really hard," said Alex Livelsberger, 6.
The group also checked out Candytown Motorcycle Club in Elizabethtown. One visitor said the parks are nice, but Burden and an original member of the 12 O'Clock Boys said in Baltimore has different needs.
"We need straightaways, asphalt streets, concrete or pavement, like a drag strip style," Burden said.
"I think if you set up a partial dirt bike track and partial paved section that allows the guys to go out and do their wheelies and street tricks in that paved area, anything is possible. The right people have to care, step up, help and get it done," said Matt Livelsberger with the Happy Ramblers Motorcycle Club.
Burden hopes the visit will bring insight. He said Baltimore has a unique problem and must find something that meets the needs of riders and the city.
Welch also suggested possibly working with the Baltimore Ravens to develop a dirt bike park in the city and naming it in honor of Walker.