For over a year now, the club has been planning a parking lot and "official" trailhead for the Redd Rd. trail network. This parking lot is planned to be under the power lines across the street from the dental offices along the paved road that goes up to the water tanks. A trail map and information sign will be posted at the top of the hill next to the water tank.
We originally sat down with employees of the Public Service Board, our water utilities people and controllers of most of the city managed land, and discussed this plan with them. They seemed all excited and we had a company draw out plans and give us a quote that is less than $3000. This amount can easily be paid by us as we've raised plenty of money through donations, memberships, and the Puzzler race. We've yet to hear anything else on this issue and now the PSB is stalling and wants us to provide a handicapped space and pay for a drainage survey which they could easily do themselves in a matter of minutes using their fancy digital mapping software.
Wednesday we will be approaching the Board of the PSB to get them to act on this plan since it will cost them nothing, we have the money to pay for it, and the city really needs to begin providing parking areas to popular recreational areas such as the Redd Rd. trails. Some of you may say, "Why bother? I just park on Redd Rd. or the dentist's lot." In less than a couple of years, Redd will continue through as Helen of Troy and traffic will be a concern. Crossing the road and parking on it will be unsafe or may become impossible.
If you'd like to see a trailhead parking area, please let the PSB and City Council know. Contact your city council rep to let him/her know that you heard the BMBA is willing to build a trailhead parking lot, but we are facing stalling tactics and even opposition to the plan. If you can attend the PSB meeting this Wednesday at 9 am, contact Cynthia Montoya at 594-5596 or email at cmontoya@epwu.org. Let her know that you want speaking time during the call from the public. You don't have to speak, but reserving the time allows you to pass your time to someone else like me so I can ramble on and annoy the Board....just kidding. Reserving time to speak lets the board know that people are interested in this topic.
The PSB meets at the EPWU Building on Hawkins just north of I-10 on the east side of the road.....easy access. Meetings can last well into the lunch hour, but usually don't. Coming early allows you to see the Mayor make a fool of himself.
Dave Wilson
BMBA President
Wilson is referring to the fact that the issue will be brought up tomorrow at the PSB's meeting beginning at 9 a.m. on the 4th floor of the EPWU Building, 1154 Hawkins Boulevard. (Map) Unfortunately, in order to bring the matter up, PSB member, Dr. Rick Bonart, will have to do so during the Call to the Public portion of the meeting. He will simply be asking (as a member of the public without any courtesy granted to him as a Board member) to have the item added to the July agenda. The silliness of the hierarchy of the PSB/EPWU makes such a parliamentary procedure necessary.
In addition, the Redd Road trailhead before the PSB is not the only trailhead that they seem to be unable to address. This is a group of people under the tight-fisted leadership of Ed Archuleta, a man not elected by a single citizen of the City of El Paso and a man leading an organization that has assumed nearly co-equal power with El Paso City government, that will not budge on a single cubic centimeter of land because the entire issue is the maintaining of Archuleta's power and that of his cronies at EPWU and in commerce.
An effort has been underway to identify trailheads around the mountain that should be preserved and maintained as entrances to the State Park and as access by the people of El Paso to recreation in the Franklin Mountains. Ed, who once sang the praises of the Palisades as the gateway to El Paso's "central park" (presumably this means the people's park), now holds out the possibility that people may not be able to use the Palisades as an entrance to the mountains at all. Response to the effort to identify and preserve trailheads has not been forthcoming from Mr. Ed. Although Planning staff has shared trailhead maps with EPWU officials, those officials insist that they have received no maps. When a contingency of City and TPWD staff along with two OSAB citizen members toured the trailheads yesterday, invited PSB officials did not join in.
Simply put, it is more than just the Redd Road trailhead where PSB is stalling.
And, by the way, a chain had to be cut off of a gate leading to a City park at Ojo de Agua yesterday - a chain placed there by the nefarious PSB/EPWU power mongers.
And, one last but very significant "by the way": PSB by State Law (that's Texas State Law) cannot own land. It's City land which is unfortunately managed by the PSB. (BTW - okay one last btw - the management of City land by the PSB historically seems to coincide with the end of El Paso's being a leader in the Southwest and becoming instead a playground of developers. Was the PSB formed to manage water or to see that certain powerful business interests profited from unregulated sprawl? Just something to think about.)
My apologies in advance for the length of this, but land ethics are a deep subject.
ReplyDeletePlanning future urbanization in light of expansion of access to open space is crucial. Parking needs to be provided now; the area can be planned minimally as proposed, then eventually enhanced to create more of a draw as a destination one finds for locals and that turns on out-of-town visitors alike, in places like metro Denver, Phoenix, etc.
Seems the old guard might at least try to see the money such things bring in, as opposed to the usual 2nd rate strip malls meeting city code minimums...but perhaps such monied individuals need to first think more on the trips they can more easily afford than we who do think, to escape the hells they help create? After all, us without their means somehow think and are inspired in other places!
Though I live in Abq, I also do some work in EP and Las Cruces. Most times I am down, I mtn bike and hike in a number of places, including above Redd Rd. I get the potential of connecting urban dweller and the wild, as it is what I do where the project allows...but regional city codes, many of their staff, and even many consultants are so counter-productive to better outdoor environments, it is pathetic. And I've witnessed a couple developer-types actually wanting to do more, but their hands are tied by the cities themselves!
But since I benefit from those like-minded in the mtn biking and conservation communities down there, I had to speak up.
Some places link population areas to open space well; others like Abq, Las Cruces and El Paso, have not yet, and need to capitalize on this with the right people who are in gov't. And esp those outside it; there must be a number in development and finance who agree with us.
So far, all I see is too many of the wrong people in all the right places - so, I'm not sure the above can happen. But your blog and thoughts on this are part of the solution - thanks.