Episode Details

PARK STORIES
A podcast from PRB

How Great Bike Parks Become Community Destinations
Five lessons from MOmentum Bike Park in Joplin, Missouri
By Bianca Montoya

Welcome to Park Stories, a podcast from PRB.

Every park has a story. In Park Stories, we bring you the people, ideas, projects, and places shaping parks and recreation—and the lessons you can take back to your own community.

Today’s story takes us to Joplin, Missouri, where a new bike park is showing how thoughtfully designed recreation can become much more than a place to ride.

It can bring people together, attract visitors, support local businesses, and become part of a community’s identity.

Our story is “How Great Bike Parks Become Community Destinations: Five Lessons from MOmentum Bike Park in Joplin, Missouri,” written by Bianca Montoya.

Every community wants a park that convinces people to return. But the most successful parks become something bigger.

They become places where kids ask for one more lap, families spend entire afternoons outdoors, and visitors discover another reason to explore the community.

Long before they become tourism assets or economic drivers, they become part of everyday life.

Destination parks rarely happen by accident. They’re designed to deliver more than recreation. They strengthen public health, support local businesses, attract visitors, create opportunities for youth, and improve quality of life.

After more than 25 years designing and building wheeled recreation facilities around the world, American Ramp Company has learned that destination parks share a common philosophy.

They’re planned around long-term community outcomes—not just opening day.

MOmentum Bike Park in Joplin demonstrates what those principles look like in practice.

Read the full story here.