Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Motocross track gets green light

Facility near Carey to host up to 4 races a year

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By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

A motocross rider flies off of a jump in the Wood River Valley last year. Photo by Mountain Express

A proposed new motocross track east of Carey isn't about a need for speed, said owner Todd Vierra last week—it's all about family.

"Our ultimate goal is just to provide a closed-course area where families can ride," he said during a Thursday meeting of the Blaine County Planning and Zoning Commission. "Our goal is just to do it right and to have a nice safe place for people to ride."

Vierra and track co-owner Lawrence Kimball came before the P&Z on Thursday seeking a conditional-use permit for a 17-acre motocross track on Laidlaw Park Road, about five miles northeast of Carey and just west of Fish Creek.

The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the track that evening, but not without serious discussion about its scale and proposed operations.

The track would accommodate about 120 competitors for three to four race events per season, which would stretch from April through August.

"There's a time when it gets too hot to race," Vierra said. "It's a pretty short season for racing."

P&Z commissioners seemed less concerned about the length of the season and more about the safety of competitors and spectators. Vierra said all spectators would stand 30 feet back from the track and be protected by a 48-inch-high steel post-and-mesh fence. That's 15 feet farther back than required by the company's insurance, he added.

"We figured they would give us the most conservative numbers, so we took it a step further," Vierra said of the insurance company.

Still, some of the commissioners said they worried about spectator safety.

"We've all seen horrible pictures [of track accidents]," said Commissioner Knox Cannon.

Commissioner Chip Bailey said he agreed, and that 30 feet might not be enough to protect onlookers.

"You get a loose wheel on a bike going 100 mph, and it can cover 30 feet pretty quickly," he said.

The commission decided to add a note to the findings stating that the commission was not fit to determine the safety of the site setup, but could only say whether the application complied with county zoning codes.

Also of concern was a letter from the Idaho Department of Lands opposing the project on the grounds that the parcel on which the track would be built was only a mile and a half from Craters of the Moon National Monument.

The major concern, according to the agency, is that competitors would take their bikes off-road and race through the monument on trails that weren't designated for motorized use, disturbing other users of the monument's trail system.

Vierra said that though the entire 64-acre piece of property is question might be close to the monument, the 17-acre parcel on which the track will be located is much farther. In addition, the bikes would not be allowed to run outside the track.

"The bikes are never ridden outside the property boundaries, ever," Vierra said, adding that the bikes are even kept to idling speed when not on the track itself.

"The only place they even see speed is on the track," he said.

Carey and Ketchum residents showed support for the project, despite potential noise and safety issues.

Greg Merchep, an upper Board Ranch resident, said he grew up riding motorcycles and that this track would allow his son to follow in his footsteps.

"It's a win-win for everybody," he said of the track, adding, "I'll be one of the first dads out there giving my little guy a pat on the butt for doing a good job."

Jane Brown of Bellevue said she credits motocross racing for keeping her son out of trouble.

"My son is on the straight and narrow because of motorcycle racing," she said, adding that all of the racers support each other and are less competitive than one might think. "It's just like ski families, but with motocross," she said.

Construction of the new track will begin in June and be completed by the end of the summer. The new track will not affect the motocross track in Ohio Gulch, which Idaho Mountain Dirt Riders President Randy Van Dyke said would remain as a practice track, with a special section for child riders.

Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com

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