Construction of the Lost Canyon Bike and Skate Park in Dolores’ Joe Rowell Park will begin in July; it’s in the final stages of fundraising now.
As it stands, it has raised nearly $582,000, which is 78% of the $737,500 it needs to build the park.
And to reach that goal, it hopes to bring in $50,000 of community contributions and secure grants to cover the rest, said Jake Carloni, the owner of the Dolores Bike Hostel, who’s spearheading fundraising efforts.
“It’s a big number ($50,000), and it’ll take work,” said Rebecca Busic, a community member who’s helping raise funds. “But I do think it’s possible … and we’ve already raised so much.”
In an email updating stakeholders, Carloni reminded everyone that “when this project was first proposed, we managed to raise $30,000 in five weeks. The support for this project is massive.”
“In tandem with the new school, it’ll bring young families to town,” he said.
Having a bike and skate park downtown also removes barriers to recreating outside.
“The park is an outlet,” Carloni said. “It’s a pro-social activity on community grounds, it’s a space for kids to play and build confidence and social skills.”
Plus, it gets kids off the street and into a safe space.
As a new mother and someone who moved to Dolores as a young adult and “grew up here,” Busic said how, for a while, “I didn’t understand the importance of having a park.”
“Now, I understand how important parks are for communities,” she said.
It’ll “fill the gap for kids,” be a space for youth programs and retain tourists in town for longer, “which is good for our county,” she said.
Carloni said a lot of local nonprofits and businesses, including the hostel, have already supported the project through donations, writing letters of support or both.
Overall, he said, fundraising has been successful.
In fact, besides the town donating the land, “this whole thing is grant and community funded,” he said.
“We’re not the first small community to try and bring this into their town. Often times, it takes decades to complete a project like this,” said Carloni.
But in Dolores, from the project’s proposal to groundbreaking this July, it’s been less than 2½ years.
“This is a timeline that cities like Denver and Boulder see, not timelines places like Dolores sees,” he said.
It’s a “bring the community together” kind-of-project, and “the meat of fundraising is done,” he said.
“Now we just need community support to get us over the finish line,” he said.
If you’re interested in donating, look out for future fundraising events. In the meantime, email lostcanyonbsp@gmail.com or donate online at doloresbikeandskatepark.com.
