What is the usual pattern of use of a velodrome (cycling track)? In the first place, if the title is not properly describing my question, please edit it.

The fact is: the bike advocacy groups of my city are slowly getting some attention from City Hall, and bicycle culture is slowly growing, with some cycle paths and education campaigns. The growing of bikers, in the other hand, is much faster, and there are a lot of people prone to advocacy and putting pressure on the politicians.

We are beginning to think about asking to build a public velodrome (track), nothing fancy, but something that would allow regular folks, respecting some rules of course, to train in a controlled environment instead of in traffic.

The problem is (and now come the questions):


How can city hall perceive any positive effects of having a velodrome, so as to justify investment? Should we mention racing events, and such?
Normally, the cities which have velodromes allow non-track bikes to train there? What are the common restrictions for use of a public velodrome?
What should we care about, in terms of size, surface type and other norms, in order not to end up building a track that could not be used in official events?


Thanks very much for reading and for any advice!
Velodromes are not a suitable cycling venue for members of the general public. They require specialized equipment (e.g., higher bottom brackets to avoid pedal strikes), training (e.g., no moving up/down track without ensuring you have room, maintaining enough speed in corners), and discipline.

Expecting untrained riders and/or unsupervised novices to ride on the track is practically begging for crashes, injuries, and lawsuits.

As an example of restrictions on use of public velodromes, the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point, Georgia was built as a public venue. Control over operations was granted to a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the East Point Velodrome Association. It is operated as a sporting venue. Members of the public are allowed to ride on the velodrome during unscheduled hours provided they have signed a release waiver, are accompanied by at least one other person, and have completed a weekend-long training course. Track bicycles are required, with the single exception of pursuit-style events, where riders may (but for all intents and purposes never do) ride a standard road bicycle.

Cheaper and more appropriate for your purposes would be to petition the city to build a circuit. Essentially, just a mile-or-so long, limited-access, paved bicycle path that loops back onto itself. No banking necessary, and bike paths are cheap and fast to build. You're not constrained to a flat oval, and turns need not be sharp enough to require banking for fast riders.