Auburn highlights Cedar Lanes bike-park programs, warns continued operation depends on new funding

Julie Krueger, director of Parks, Recreation, presented an update to the Auburn City Council on Aug. 25 about the Cedar Lanes Bike Park redevelopment and the city’s expanded youth bike programs, and said the programs are currently sustained by grant funding and community partners but need more long‑term dollars to continue. "We serve 369 individual kids in the program with 1,122 kids checking out a bike," said Kirsten Lang, recreation coordinator and acting recreation manager, during the presentation.

The city has redeveloped Cedar Lanes over the past five years in phases. Krueger told the council Phase 1, begun in spring 2022 or 2023, completed four skills areas (a skinny zone, a drop zone, a jump line and a dirt single track flow trail). Phase 2, completed in 2024, added a picnic shelter, a restroom and what the presentation called the first asphalt pump track in Western Washington. The pump track allows riders to gain momentum without pedaling by "pumping" with their arms and body.

The programs now offered from the site include Summer Ride (started 2023), a mobile "learn to ride" approach that provides bikes, helmets and instructors; a multi-week bike‑building and skills program the presenters called Bridal Revolution; Pedal Power and All Kids Bike for preschool and older riders; bike club at Pioneer Elementary School; family rides and camps; and shuttle trips to mountain trails. Cycletherapy, a local nonprofit, provided volunteer instructors and additional bikes and received an $11,000 grant from the Auburn Office of Equity, Krueger said.

Lang described higher participation after moving Summer Ride to evening hours: "It became a lot more of an accurate representation of the community. We saw more families coming out," she said. The presentation listed totals and program metrics: 369 individual kids served by a highlighted program year; 1,122 bike checkouts; roughly 140 bikes in the city inventory (expanded from an initial 30 in 2018); more than 300 hours of volunteer service; about 280 kids in bike camps; and more than 800 attendees at park events. Krueger said the city used approximately $40,000 in grant funding (referred to in the presentation as "seek funds") to expand inventory and that Summer Ride and other programs were partially supported by King County Youth Sports Facility grants and a Washington Recreation and Park Association spotlight award.

The presentation also identified a Washington State Department of Transportation program funded through Washington Clean Air Act money that supplied a grant of about $212,000 for a program the staff referred to as Bridal Revolution; staff said that amount was later supplemented with $215,300 to continue operations. Krueger said the Bridal Revolution program provides students with a boxed bicycle they assemble, a 30‑hour curriculum, a helmet, lights and a lock, and that 38 teens earned new bikes through the program this year. The program also funds a full‑time position, three recreation leaders and a bike mechanic, according to the presentation.

Council members asked about sponsorships, storage and safety. One council member suggested approaching nonprofit sponsors for modest stipends to support Summer Ride. When asked where the city stores trailers and equipment, Krueger said the bikes and trailers are kept in a secured facility the staff call the Bike Barn near Game Farm; staff bring bikes to programs rather than inviting the public to the Barn. On safety and staffing, Krueger said programs are staffed to meet safety needs (for example, four to five staff for a 12–15 child learn‑to‑ride group and six to seven staff for a 24‑child summer camp) and that parents or legal guardians must sign waivers for minors.

Staff noted local infrastructure changes made the park more accessible: a public‑works sidewalk project that extended the sidewalk from M Street to the park helped direct parking to Pioneer Elementary School during program hours and reduced on‑street parking impacts, Krueger said. The city uses targeted recruitment through school counselors and prioritizes applicants who qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch when filling program slots.

Krueger and Lang asked the council for help finding sustainable funding, recruiting volunteer coaches and building a volunteer maintenance corps for trails and equipment. Lang said fall recruitment for staff and program sessions was expected to begin in October and that program schedules and registration would be posted online at the address provided during the meeting. "We know how great these programs are and what an impact they have on the community. Now we’ve got to find more dollars to continue offering them," Krueger said.

What’s next: staff expect to begin fall recruitment and to publish schedules for the next sessions; continued operation depends on securing new grants or sponsors.