Proposed motorbike park aims to address safety issues

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Jhamal Gonsalves incident is heightening tensions over motorbike safety in the city, but one businessman says the solution could be sitting in an empty lot.

Shay DiPina says he understands that safety is a concern in Providence, and that ATVs are part of it.

“Right now, the city is in a war zone,” he said. “People are scared to go out, people are scared to go down to the city, people aren’t comfortable. And there needs to be a resolution sooner than later.”

DiPina says that resolution is a bike park he’s proposing on Charles Street called Rumble Adventureland.

He says it would be the first of its kind in the state.

DiPina has been working on it for last two to three months, cleaning up the site and meeting with track designers.

“I don’t know if we’re going to have one area where they do wheelies and stunts, another area where they do burnouts and spinouts,” he said. :With their input we would have something that would be appeasing to the public and something that they’d want to ride on.”

But with only three acres, the options are somewhat limited.

“We’re not proposing to go ahead and put an Indy 500 racetrack there on Charles Street,” DiPina said. “What we’re trying to do is allow these guys to ride on legal space, in a controlled environment.”

He says the city is concerned about the size, wondering if there’s enough room for parking as it require that would people bring their ATVs in street legal cars.

But DiPina has a potential solution to that too: a temporary license plate.

“Call it an in-transit plate, where they can register online, print their plate, and then be able to drive their vehicle over to the park for the day,” he said.

DiPina says he wants to think outside the box and cooperate to make it happen.

“We want to work with the city, we want to work with our neighbors, we’re trying to work with area businesses,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is put a positive approach to help solve this problem.”

DiPina says with the city’s approval, he could get the site up and running in a matter of weeks.

But a spokesperson for the city tells ABC6 in a statement that a motorbike park needs at least 10 acres, and that there “currently is no space within the City that could accommodate future use.”