Angry

I have a beautiful wooded trail in my backyard, one that I walk almost daily if weather permits. Up until three years ago I had a water feature to walk along, a cement irrigation canal that provided life to the surrounding birds and trees, in addition to carrying water to farmlands and gardeners to the north.  A tragic landslide took the water away, along with the tree lives of people living in its path. 

The day the water went away I didn’t realize the impact this change would have on my life. I’m not generally an angry person but as I gradually learned that the water would be replaced with an underground pipe and that I would have to fight to access to the water that was rightfully mine, I became angry and distrustful.

Throughout winter, heavy equipment and dirt movers have worked to submerge the pipe, leaving nothing but mud and tracks behind.  Last summer mosquitos and odor remained as the shallow water was left standing and dried up.  No one cared about what has been left behind, or what was once living.

Now, I thought that we could put this all behind us and have our waterless trail return to some sense of normalcy and use but the city has other plans. They have already secured money in the form of a grant from the county to pave our former cement ditch with a wide asphalt trail. With this trail will come more people, dogs, and bike riders? Our once private backyard will become a thru-way on the way to Logan Canyon and other trails. 

I like the idea of more city trails and areas where people can recreate outdoors, but something is not right about this pathway. 

My concerns are:

-           How can the city build a public path on privately owned land?

-           How will the users be safe from future landslides?

-           How will the underground springs be address so that future landslides won’t happen?

-           If future landslides occur who will be liable?

-           How often will the trail be maintained? What if a tree falls across the path….

-           Who will water and maintain the trees that are already suffering from water loss?

-           How will the city handle trespassing and damage to landowners property?

-           Would the city consider putting up fencing to keep people off private property?

-           Why does it have to be paved? Early documents called for more natural surface

I don’t mind sharing the path occasionally with people walking the trail but I don’t want to open the trail up to people who don’t realize that it is private property. It is quite a bit different to grant easement rights to the canal company than it is to give access to the general public. I don’t want people in my backyard that I haven’t invited to be there. We are all stewards of what we have been given and this is my property to share as I see fit.