Brock’s petition gets BMX on track

By Sarah Schwager
A BMX track will be considered at a park in Hampton Park.
The site at Amber Reserve originally came up after eight-year-old Brock Little sent a petition to Casey Council last month to have bike jumps installed at the park near his house.
The grade two student from Mary MacKillop Primary School in Narre Warren North sent the petition along with a letter saying that the park was the perfect spot for some jumps.
The petition was signed by 40 of Brock’s young friends and neighbours.
At Tuesday night’s council meeting, the council agreed to include Amber Reserve in a list of appropriate sites for a BMX dirt track and jumps within Casey.
Originally the recommendation suggested Lesley Reserve in Hampton Park as the more appropriate site.
Councillor Wayne Smith, who brought the petition to council, said he had been very disappointed with the original recommendation and asked for it to be changed, with the addition that Lesley Reserve also be considered.
“An eight-year-old boy has noticed a problem and got an interest in it,” Cr Smith said.
“Are we then going to write to him, ‘Yes, there should be a BMX track in Hampton Park but we are going to build it 800 metres up the road’?”
Cr Smith said the site at Amber Reserve did not need any additional landscaping and there were no issues with it being too close to houses backing onto the reserve.
“This sport is big now and it is only going to get bigger,” he said.
“We should be encouraging our young people.”
In a separate recommendation, the council looked at the possibility of developing a competition BMX racing track at Casey Fields.
Councillor Colin Butler said at the moment, Kilsyth, Knox and Frankston were the closest facilities.
Cr Butler said Casey’s riders were waiting to be able to set up their own club, rather than have to compete in neighbouring areas.
“BMX racing is growing quite dramatically. It is the fifth most-participated in activity away from home,” he said.