To Whom would you like your solicitation available: Open to the Public
Project Title: LAMBO Longleaf Trail System - Sam Houston Jones State Park
Project Solicitation Number (if any):
Project Description:
Contact Information
Tyler Churchman - 337-853-6848 - lambotrails@gmail.com https://lambotrails.wixsite.com/mysite
Robert Landry - copy on all transmittals - 337-884-2671 - rlandry0@bellsouth.net
Project Background and Detail:
LAMBO Longleaf Trail System
Sam Houston Jones State Park - Lake Charles, LA 70611
Sam Houston Jones State Park is ~1000acre park located between Westlake and Moss Bluff, LA. The park is known for its abundance of Longleaf Pines as well as Magnolias and Cypress trees. Topography is relatively flat due to geographical location, but the park does offer more elevation than one would assume with highest point being around 40ft above sea level. The park includes an RV campground as well as brand new rental cabins, two day use areas, several lagoons for kayaking and fishing, and a boat launch that connects the park to a river that dumps into the Gulf of Mexico. ~20,000 people live within a 5-mile radius of the park of which includes (2) major public high schools, (1) private high school, (4) middle/elementary schools. Close to 110,000 residents live within a 10 miles radius including quadruple the number of schools. Parking is currently an issue at our existing trailhead and would need to be addressed with the expected increased traffic through the trail system.
The Louisiana Office of State Parks (OSP) has developed a general master plan for the park itself and included our current trails as well a bicycle skills park. This effort was completely funded by the OSP but was made clear that any future design and planning will be our (LAMBO) responsibility. The master planning effort was led by OSP. The Friends of Sam Houston Jones State Park (a 501c3, of which I am Vice-President) were invited to take part as a representative for park user groups including other groups such as disc golf, campers, nature, kayak, etc. groups. Since the general master plan was commissioned by OSP, it does not necessarily include attractions and amenities which LAMBO believe are vital to a successful and sustainable bike park.
Design Goals:
1. Design master trail plan that doubles current mileage from 10miles to 20miles to be built by professionals (Goal of 5 new miles of bike optimized trail with features - blue/black)
2. Identify key improvements for professionals/LAMBO to incorporate into existing trails
3. Develop best application/design for bike park with pump track, skills area, flow trails etc.
4. Integrate paved greenway network to connect park attractions with trail network
5. Develop estimate with phased approach, and corresponding marketing materials for fundraising of build costs.
Proposed Construction Timeline (for Phasing)
Phase 1 (2024): Complete design and build a brand new bike optimized trail
Phase 2 (2024): Improve where available on existing trails - throw in some easy features - Major fundraising campaign for bike park
Phase 3 (2025): THE BIKE PARK!
Phase 4 (2026): Continue to build more trails
Phase 5 (forever): Maintenance
Construction Team / Type:
Volunteer, Professional / Mechanized is allowed.
Community Benefits There are over 100 homes with direct access to the park surrounding its border, accessible steps from their front door. As previously mentioned, ~20,000 people live within a 5-mile radius of this park, more than half of that population can access the park without crossing any bridges, and the one bridge must be crossed by the remaining population and has pedestrian walkways. Unlike most State parks, Sam Houston Jones State Park is in a prime location in the middle of two semi-urban areas and only 7 miles from Interstate 10 which sees more than 62,000 vehicles at its intersection with LA 171, the access point for the park, each day. Sam Houston Jones State Park is the only state park in the five parish Imperial Calcasieu region (Calcasieu, Cameron, Beauregard, Jefferson Davis, and Allen) with a total population of over 320,000.
It is one of the goals of LAMBO to use this project as a catalyst to jump start local NICA programs. Local schools have shown they are open to sports programs such as golf, wrestling, bowling, etc. all of which have local practice facilities. I truly believe that once a NICA facility is established at Sam Houston Jones State Park, we will easily be able to establish a youth mountain bike program. The OSP has even mentioned they are interested in establishing a Louisiana XC racing circuit.
Organization and Partners
LAMBO has a board of directors with 9 members (president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, trail-boss, and 4 board members) with a current membership roster of 74. 4 to 5 LAMBO members are consistently working on the trails and our trail-boss is on the trails at least once a week working them. When we have volunteer workdays, we see anywhere from 10-30 people.
LAMBO is a non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve great trail experiences for mountain bikers in Lake Charles, and to create a bicycle friendly community through cycling awareness, safety advocacy and promotion of bicycling for fun, fitness, and transportation. LAMBO would like to develop our local trails into a premiere network of multi-use and bike-optimized trails for hikers, trail runners and off-road cyclists of all skill levels.
This is our first major project for our group as we have only been established for one year. That said, our board of directors is made up of years of projects experience, both professional and community. Several of us are also members of other community boards and so we are not unfamiliar to projects, but we are new to this territory and excited for the journey. Other partners for this project include: Friends of Sam Houston Jones State Park, Moss Bluff Civic Club, Lake Area Runners, The Community Foundation, various Eagle Scout Troops, the Children's Museum of SWLA, Visit Lake Charles, Tour Lafitte Southwest Louisiana, Ainsley's Angels, Autism Services of Southwest Louisiana, Down Syndrome Association of Southwest Louisiana, and the Awesome Association.
Company/Organization/Agency Submitting Contract: Lake Area Mountain Bike Organization
Primary Contact for Contract Information: Tyler Churchman
Email Address: lambotrails@gmail.com
Closest City to Project: Lake Charles
State/Province/Region: Louisiana
Country: United States
Pre-Bid Meeting Date: January 19, 2024
Pre-Bid Meeting Time: 9:00 AM
Anticipated Project Start Date: March 01, 2024
Application Deadline: February 09, 2024
Additional Project Bid Information: Attachments for .KMZ files and Current trail map attached.
Date Submitted to PTBA: January 09, 2024