Scenic Drive Closures

Click image to enlarge.

Scenic Sunday will continue this week and for the weeks to come in spite of construction that will shut down the Richmond and Louisville entrances from Alabama. Here's what the press release from El Paso Water says:

"Starting Monday, August 14, El Paso Water will close Scenic Drive from Wheeling Avenue to Alabama to all traffic for several weeks to complete the next phase of the Kentucky Dam stormwater improvement project.

"Additionally, small portions of neighboring streets will be restricted to local traffic during construction:

• Streets between Scenic Drive and Alabama
• Streets between Wheeling Avenue and Altura Avenue

"Drivers will still be able to enter and exit Scenic Drive by detouring around the closure on Alabama Street and turning west onto Wheeling Avenue."

Spread the word.

"The $3.9 million project will help reduce flooding in Central El Paso. The project will increase the capacity of nearby ponds and add piping that keeps water off the streets by directing stormwater into the dam. Additionally, the project will improve service in the area by replacing water and wastewater lines."

Scenic Drive Tagged and Trashed

Click on image to enlarge. Then weep.

Photo by Vallarie Enriquez, Vantage Point Visual Studios, Inc.

Last Sunday morning people attending the Celebration of Our Mountains' "A Walk through Time" on Scenic Drive as well as the regular Scenic Sunday crowd were shocked to find the amount and size of tagging on the strata above Scenic Point and Murchison Park. Along with the tagging were piles of garbage (not just trash) above and below Murchison Park. (Pictures)

Along with pictures, I emailed officials on Monday:

When El Pasoans, their guests, visitors and tourists go to Scenic Drive (a spot that we have pointed to with pride so often in the past), they will now find the once beautiful rock stratas above Murchison Park/Scenic Point heavily tagged. Some of the tagging is obscene. If they take a short hike up and to the other side of the strata ridge, they will find more. What greets people now is what you see in these pictures. (I have higher res photos as well.) If anyone peeks over the side of the walls above and surrounding Murchison Park, they will see piles of not just trash but garbage.

This issue is not just a District One or District Two issue. It is an issue for all El Pasoans. The length of Scenic is strewn with beer cans and condoms. I took the above pictures today after General Services had cleaned the areas near the trash cans. I can tell you though that, yesterday when we had our Celebration event, the evidence of the weekend partying was all about.

I suggest that, if the EPPD is so stretched out that they cannot stop the drunkenness that results in chunks of the Scenic Drive walls from being gouged out on a regular almost weekly basis now by intoxicated drivers and they cannot stop the littering and tagging and make a real effort to do so, perhaps they can be assisted by the County Sheriff. If both cannot put a stop to it, perhaps the Commander of Ft. Bliss should be asked for his help by deputizing some of his troops. If we really crackdown over a month or two of weekends, much of this will finally be stopped. As it is now, the tagging, the garbage, the consumption of alcohol and the misbehavior is done with impunity and with the result of a Scenic Drive becoming a place of shame for all El Pasoans and not a place of beauty.

If it isn’t stopped, then we should all be ashamed to take anyone visiting our homes and our City on a tour of Scenic Drive.

I hope to get a response. Believe me – I will pursue this until the problem is permanently corrected.

Jim H. Tolbert

Representative Byrd responded as did Representative Ann Lilly's office which followed-up by working with General Services and other departments in the City. General Services is in the process of developing a volunteer page for groups to help clean-up Scenic. One wonders what has happened with Walgreen's which has seemingly disappeared from Scenic although they have a sign posted about their efforts to keep it clean. As much of the tagging was done on privately owned land (if you can believe that our mountains have private owners - much of the southern area is so owned), Environmental Services became involved as the issue became a matter of code compliance.

Clean-up began almost immediately. Sadly, clean-up cannot be the final solution.

Unfortunately the one person who has failed to respond to my email and is also missing in action is the Chief of the El Paso Police Department, Gregory Allen. I'm glad that volunteers will help clean-up the Drive and I'm grateful to all El Paso taxpayers for funding anti-graffiti efforts. However, shouldn't those who tag and trash bear the responsibility and shouldn't they be held accountable? The only department in the City who can significantly change the behavior of those whose mayhem mars our mountains is the Police Department. They should be out in force weekend after weekend, handing out tickets, stopping the public drinking that is increasingly leading to punctured walls along the Drive, making arrests, bringing to justice those who need to change their behavior and who need to be required by courts to clean-up their filth. No response yet from Chief Allen. Zilch. Zero. Nada.

Scenic Sundays Move to 7 AM

Representative Beto O'Rourke strolling with family at the recent Scenic Sunday "Walk through Time" event

Beginning this Sunday, October 4, Scenic Sundays will run from 7 a.m. until Noon. The new time will be in effect until next spring.

Scenic Sunday is a year-round program sponsored by District 2 of the City of El Paso and the Newman Park Neighborhood Association. Scenic Drive is closed to all vehicular traffic from Richmond to Rim/Robinson during the posted hours. El Paso Police Department officers are on hand to block the road to vehicles and provide security for all participants.

District 2 Representative Susie Byrd says: "Now that the weather is cooler, it's a a great opportunity to get outside, get some exercise and enjoy the views of El Paso."

Most Sunday mornings Byrd is found walking along Scenic Drive.

El Pasoans Walk through Time

The Walk through Time event on Scenic Drive for Scenic Sunday on August 23rd was quite a success. There were three principal goals for the program: to acquaint people with the geology, history and natural history of El Paso; to get people outdoors; to acquaint El Pasoans with the Scenic Sunday program. With more than 200 people out for the event, the mission was easily accomplished.

Dr. Dave Lemone makes a point about the different strata of the Franklin Mountains

Leon Metz enchants the crowd with stories about El Paso's gunfighters and shady ladies

Dr. Phil Goodell points to the place where the Lost Padre Mine might have been

Eric Kappus, the Dino Tracker, examines a rock with Master Naturalist Jamie Ackerman

A Walk Through Time on Scenic Drive

A view from Scenic Drive

Here's the press release that you will want to read:

Scenic Sundays “A Walk Through Time”, August 23rd, 8 – 10 a.m.

Walk, ride, or pedal your way up El Paso's Scenic Drive and learn about the history and environment of the El Paso/Juarez region!

Sunday, August 23rd: Scenic Sundays presents A Walk Through Time, with talks by El Paso historian Leon Metz, UTEP Geologists, and expert Naturalists.

Hike or ride your bike on a traffic-free Scenic drive and enjoy learning about the natural wonders of the El Paso/Juarez region all the way up to Scenic Point, with stops to enjoy refreshments and experience the Chihuahuan desert.

Learn about the layers of rock that make our Franklin Mountains! Have fun learning names of fossils and plants along the road! Learn about how Native Americans lived in the El Paso/Juarez region! Travel through time as you climb to Scenic Point on the ridge!

Hosted by Celebration of Our Mountains, UTEP, The Dinosaurs of Mt. Cristo Rey, Texas Master Naturalists, Pedicabs, City of El Paso District 2, Newman Park Neighborhood Association

YOU CAN GET INVOLVED! Contact the Dinosaur Tracker – palygorskite@hotmail.com or jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com.