The long-anticipated Holland Bike Park took a major step forward Tuesday night as the Holland City Council unanimously approved a $703,630 construction contract with the American Ramp Company, clearing the way for work to begin in spring 2026.

Assistant Director of Parks & Recreation Garrett Thelen, who has shepherded the project through its planning phase.

“Thanks for having me here tonight,” Thelen began. “This has been a project we’ve been working on for about 18 months now. It’s been a little bit in the shadow of another big project in the same area, but this one is just as exciting. There are a lot of community members that are really excited to get this rolling.”
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Thelen described the process of developing the park design as rooted in community feedback and guided by a set of core principles. “Whenever we take on a project of this scope, we do a ton of fact-finding. And this project is no different,” he said. “We’ve presented this at public meetings, Parks and Rec Commission meetings, planning study sessions, and then obviously you had the opportunity to accept the design contract for this about 14 months ago.”

He said the city’s priorities have centered on five themes: community demand, quality design, impact, alignment with recreation programming, and long-term sustainability.

“We have expert designs for this, some of the best people in the country have designed this pump track for us,” Thelen said. “We wanted a design that aligned with what we do on the programming side of recreation, with a low barrier of entry but plenty of opportunities to expand skills.”

He also emphasized the park’s durability and self-sufficiency. “This bike park is going to be designed to be sustainable, and we’re not going to have to hire any additional staff to maintain it,” he explained. “It’s an asphalt track that doesn’t have to be continually graded. We found one park in another community that was closed more often than it was open because of maintenance needs. We didn’t want that for Holland.”

Finally, Thelen said the project is designed both as a standalone facility and with room to grow. “We want this phase to have a level of finality to it; it should be able to stand on its own. But we’re also designing it with the ability to expand in the future if the community appetite is there.”

The bike park will be built on three to four acres of city-owned land at 97 N. River Avenue, just north of the Unity Bridge along the Macatawa River.

The project has strong community backing. Local nonprofit Velo Kids Inc. has been working to raise $100,000 in private donations to enhance the park’s features. Residents can support the effort through the campaign at givebutter.com/hollandbikepark.

Downtown bike shop Velo City Cycles has also championed the project, partnering with Velo Kids to promote the vision, organize community rides, and build grassroots momentum. Their advocacy has helped draw more families and riders into the effort, strengthening fundraising and ensuring the park reflects the needs of both everyday cyclists and competitive riders.

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