A 12-year-old boy in Lemmon valley is taking it upon himself to make an impact in his community. Osman Souza has been lobbying Washoe County leaders trying to get a dirt bicycle park built in his neighborhood.
For Osman Souza, it's a lot of fun pumping the wheels on his bike. But he didn't have that passion, until his family took him to the Bicycle Pump Park in Panther Valley. And then he couldn't get enough. “The best part of riding a bike is jumping over hills. Some of the jumps are bigger and give you more momentum. It’s fun,” said Souza.
There is no course near his house. So Souza and his friends made their own track through his front yard and neighboring streets. They also built a jump box ramp in the back yard. “It was fun instead of ditches, because there are no tumble weeds and stickers when you use the jump box,” said Souza.
Riding through the streets is not the safest of options. A vacant lot near his home, however, seemed like a great spot for a dirt park. "That's the only thing he talked about is a bike park. Finally I just said that he should write a letter,” said Douglas Souza who is Osman’s father. And write a letter he did. He emailed it to all of the county supervisors.
"Interestingly enough, we are going through a Comprehensive Park Master Plan for the entire county. It is the guiding document for parks for the next 10 to 20 years,” said Eric Crump from Washoe County’s Community Services Department.
The county is getting ready to submit that report after 2 years of putting it together. And Souza plan may actually be a possibility.”I’m hoping for a big enough lot so people can have open trails so people can ride. And BMX tracks so people can race each other for fun,” said Osman Souza.“If we can work together to identify funding for the development and the maintenance of it, it would be a great opportunity,” said Crump.
The Comprehensive Park Master Plan will be presented to the Parks Commission on September 3,2019.The public is encouraged to give its own comments at that meeting.
