Following is a recap of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail Open House.
This was a working meeting designed to get input on completing an
almost 25-mile section of the BST from the mouth of Parley's Canyon to
Hidden Valley Park in Sandy. You can view a map of the proposed
alignments at
http://soboko.com/bst/bstmap.jpg.
The Forest Service said they should have the whole BST plan available
on their website for viewing by next week.
There were about 60 people at the meeting. The meeting was facilitated
by Baer West, a consulting firm that is performing the same function as
Landmark Design has done on the Emigration project. The format of the
Open House was similar although more organized. We were split into
three groups with moderators who elicited and then wrote down comments.
The comments were almost identical to those we have heard on our
project. In fact, I could have stood up there and written them down
myself.
The NIMBY mindset generates a very specific set of self-serving
concerns, some of which are valid, many were not. Some of these
concerns included "undesirable people coming into our neighborhood",
"our streets weren't built to handle the parking", "it will bring our
property values down", etc. The same group also voiced environmental
concerns - "what about the wildlife", "we live in a flood plain, what
about the erosion, there will be too much scarring of the hillside."
Of those attending, I'd say that a majority were opposed to
building the trail, period. Most of those opposed were property owners
near Olympus Cove and the mouth of Millcreek Canyon. I expected a far
better showing from bikers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts in general
to be there, but there were just a few of us. Given that the proposal
to complete this section of trail would allow trails enthusiasts to
ride, run, hike or bike from North Salt Lake all the way to Sandy, I
would have thought there would have been more people there in support.
In talking with some of the Forest Service personnel and other
land managers from the area, it is becoming quite clear that if trail
users do not start speaking up, access to public land and open space is
going to be decided by those who are lucky enough to live adjacent to
it. Please take a second, right NOW to send an email to the addresses
listed below stating your support for:
1) The completion of the Bonneville Shoreline
Trail as a needed county-wide recreational amenity.
2) The need for more trails and more trail funding
in Salt Lake County and the state.
3) The preservation of access to public lands and
open space at the fringes of our communities.
We simply cannot afford to be complacent and let these decisions
be made for us. If we do the access to the outdoors we have always
enjoyed and has made this place a great place to live will go away.
Soon we will be nothing more than a city of concrete and fences next to
the mountains.
Comments regarding the development of this 25-mile section of the
BST are being taken until April 17th. Please send your comments to:
We all owe the people who have helped to create the Bonneville
Shoreline Trail we now enjoy and they deserve our support. They have
helped me a great deal in getting the Emigration trails proposal to
where we are now. Please send in your comments TODAY!
Sarah Bennett Alley
Friends of Emigration Canyon Trails & Open Space
64 N. Silver Oak Rd.
SLC, UT 84108
H 801.583.8144
C 801.550.0676