A pump track is a looping trail system of berms and rollers for cycling, skating, skateboarding and scootering.
Portobello Domain Pump Track project co-ordinators Stacey Kokaua and Dan Parker have shared their initiative with the Otago Peninsula Community Board, in a bid to gain support for the project.
It was hoped the track could be built on about 120sq m of the council-owned Portobello Domain.
Ms Kokaua said to date, the Dunedin City Council had not yet committed support for their proposal, and it was hoped the community board may be able to help sway council staff.
"We’re trying to stress that the council won’t have to pay for it. We just want to use a bit of the land."
She said the project was expected to cost about $200,000 and hoped it would be funded by community grants and donations.
The benefits would far outweigh the cost of the project.
"Firstly, we have quite a number of young families moving out here for various reasons, including house prices and the new road making it a bit more accessible.
"The rolls at the school and the playcentre are growing.
"So we want facilities for those kids, but we envision that this will be a destination facility which will draw people from Dunedin out to Portobello.
"Children either side of Portobello could easily bike down the cycleway to the domain and use the pump track, and families from Dunedin could also come all the way out and use it."
She believed the resulting influx of visitors would also help support local businesses.
She said businesses around a new pump track in Hamilton had reported a significant increase in business when the track was completed.
"It’s a community facility that’s not available for families in Dunedin at the moment.
"Because it would be sealed, it would be perfect for young families.
At a recent board meeting, board member Lox Kellas said it was a good idea but it needed wider community support.
The board suggested community contacts which may be able to help the project progress.
