The Redmond City Council approved the site and official name of the Redmond Bike Park by a unanimous 7-0 vote at its meeting Tuesday night at City Hall.

The site is located on Education Hill near the corner of 171st Avenue Northeast and Northeast 100th Street.

Fourteen people — a mixture of neighbors and current bike users — testified on the issue.

The neighbors raised a number of issues, including visitor parking, increased traffic and speeding and safety of the riders, according to Council President Richard Cole.

“There was a strong concern that the park would become a major regional draw which would have a significant impact to their neighborhood,” Cole said. “The site is somewhat hidden from the road and there was a concern regarding other activities that might go on. Citizens didn’t believe there had been sufficient public input.”

Cole said neighbors were supportive of providing a site for the dirt bike users, but wanted it at different location.

“A site by Horace Mann Elementary School was suggested, but the city had already evaluated the site and found that it did not meet the criteria,” said Cole, adding that two other sites at Hartman Park were also considered.

The majority of those who testified in favor of the site were dirt bike users.

The Council believed that this was the best location for several reasons, according to Cole:

• The area was already in existence and the cost of the upgrades would be much lower than a new site.

• The concern of the safety of the riders would be improved by having a professional designer lay out the site.

• Other sites had development challenges.

• Parking concerns can be met with aggressive police monitoring.

• The buffering issue would be mitigated with additional landscaping.

• There had been several public meetings and public input at user meetings.

• The Parks and Trails Commission had unanimously recommended this site.

• The neighbors that had contacted the council or testified will be invited to participate in a formal design process later this year.

The City’s Parks and Recreation department has been working with community members on the park redevelopment since April 2009.

While the city has hired a firm to design the park site, most of the work will be done by park users and volunteers.