Until now, children have mostly been limited to streets, sidewalks, and parking lots to get the hang of riding bikes or improving their cycling skills. But thanks to the efforts of town officials and volunteers, Newtown is poised to open an exciting and safe place for children to pedal — while enjoying rams and other obstacles.

A rescheduled official opening of the Newtown Bicycle Playground, located next to the Senior Center at Fairfield Hills, is set for June 22 at 5 pm after Canadian wildfire smog forced a June 7 postponement.

The public is invited to attend to celebrate something that is not only unique for the town and state, but perhaps all of the northeast according to Brad Accettella, who is on the sub-committee established for the creation of this park under the direction of Newtown Parks and Recreation. Accettella, who also serves on the Newtown Bike & Trail Committee, has been hard at work grooming the bike playground and getting it ready for use.

The event will be hosted by that committee along with the New England Mountain Bike Association.

An ice cream truck will be on hand to serve up tasty treats, and guests looking to be among the first to try out the playground are asked to bring helmets and bikes, although there will be some available for loan courtesy of Parks & Recreation.

“I’m super-excited and I’ve been riding bikes for my entire life,” said Accettella, whose children are waiting for the official opening. The park is designed for those learning to ride — as young as 2 or 3 years old, on up to about 12 or 13.

“This has just been a fun project,” he added.

Accettella said he has worked in the bike industry for many years and donated about 100 Guardian Bikes to Newtown Recreation several years ago. Those bikes have been available at the Community Center for children to use, and will continue to be available for those using the new playground.

“I’m so excited about the opportunity this is going to provide the community, especially the young riders looking for a safe place to ride their bikes,” said Amy Mangold, director of Newtown Parks and Recreation. Mangold also served on the sub-committee along with Paula Burton, Clinton DePaolo, and Carl Samuelson.

“There are not a lot of safe places for kids to ride bicycles in town,” Mangold pointed out.

Accettella said the numbers of children riding bikes have been steadily declining, and he is hopeful this new riding playground will help change things.

“We’ve got to get more kids on bikes,” he said; “there are less and less kids riding bikes every year.”

The playground features fixtures including wavy or roller-coaster-style ramps, a tunnel, large hoops to pedal through, and multiple trail systems. Representatives from American Ramp Company recognized the success of Newtown’s skate park, which Mangold helped establish, and got on board to make the bicycle park a reality, Accettella said.

Mangold noted that the bike playground is great for all abilities and that there are designated areas for riders to go around the ramps and obstacles until they feel comfortable doing so.

To keep things as safe as possible there are signs for designated days in which bikers are to pedal in a certain direction with the goal of avoiding collisions on the course.

The cost for the Newtown Bicycle Playground was $88,435, which included equipment, trail work, installation, shipping, and handling for the materials. The committee received $75,000 in ARPA funds.

The New England Mountain Bike Association raised $16,600 with hundreds of individual donations and a match from the Jeniam Foundation. Parks and Recreation raised another $1,135.

Dan Holmes and his Holmes Fine Gardens landscaping company donated labor and some materials, and Gardenfolk provided some time and assistance as well. Additionally, Paula Brinkman worked to make the park “whimsical,” Mangold said.

Mangold additionally mentioned the Fairfield Hills Authority, Glen Boyle and Charles Zukowski of the Newtown Bike & Trail Committee, and Land Use Director Rob Sibley as key players in the bicycle park coming to fruition.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.