LOMPOC, Calif. - The Lompoc city council agreed this week to go forward with plans to build a BMX bike park. The new dirt bike track will be at Riverbend Community Park. If all goes according to plan, the 6-acre park should be finished by August of this year.
So we wanted to know, how liable is Lompoc for any injuries that occur at the extreme sports park?
BMX biking, just like skateboarding, can be a dangerous sport. City council member Dirk Starbuck says the city is very aware that there is the potential for injury at the park.
Starbuck says the professional consultant who will be designing the Riverbend Bike Park has plenty of experience building parks that have legal jumps and are constructed properly.
"The risk is cut back. It's not like kids are nailing boards together on empty lots here," says Starbuck. "This will be a very controlled environment for them to practice and ride in."
But what if someone does injure themselves at the future park?
Central Coast News contacted the Lompoc city attorney who said the city is protected by state law. Government code section 831.7 says "neither a public entity or public employee is liable to any person who participates in a hazardous recreational activity."
"The city's liability is alleviated on it as long as there isn't any gross negligence and as long as the park is maintained, then there wouldn't be any gross negligence on it," says Starbuck.
