Utards: BST needs your help!

Hey all,


I know how many of us ride the BST around here. Well, there's a plan to extend it down the East Bench all the way to LCC. However, there's a lot of resistance by property owners. Apparently there was a public meeting about it already, and most who showed up were against the BST expansion.

There is a public comment period and us maggots need to chime in or the property owners will win again (just like they did with the Emigration Canyon expansion earlier this year). Please write! Unfortunately comments are due TOMORROW April 17th.

Comments can be made to the USFS here at: comments-intermtn-wasatch-cache-saltlake@fs.fed.us

For more info see the website: http://www.savetheshoreline.org

Here's a summary of the meeting taken from the mtbr forums.

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Here's the issue in a nutshell. Until April 17, the Forest Service is gathering public comments regarding the proposed expansion of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail along the east bench of the Salt Lake Valley, from Parley’s to Little Cottonwood and beyond. There was a public meeting on April 5, which I attended. Here's a report.

There were about 60 people there. The meeting was facilitated by an outside consulting group that was responsible for collecting citizen input, organizing it, and presenting it to the USFS.

Of those attending, I'd say that a slim 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'm sure you can imagine all the excuses - "undesirable people coming into our neighborhood", "our streets weren't built to handle the parking", "it will bring our property values down", etc. Never mind that property values in Park City have skyrocketed lately, at the same time that they've developed an extensive trail network (through their most exclusive neighborhoods, no less). Even in Salt Lake, Daybreak and Suncrest are doing the same thing, and the prices in those areas are going through the roof as well.

The same group also voiced environmental concerns - "what about the wildlife", "we live in a flood plain, what about the erosion" - read into that what you will.

I expected more bikers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts in general to be there, but there were just a few. The people who showed up at this meeting were mostly NIMBY types. This alarms me, since this is what the USFS is going to perceive as public opinion. This is "In My Back Yard" (one of the proposed trailheads is very close to my house), and I'm very much in favor of finishing the BST.

I would recommend that anyone who would like to have more opportunities for hiking and biking close by send a message to this easy to-remember email address: comments-intermtn-wasatch-cache-saltlake@fs.fed.us

I really think that the emails will influence things greatly. Construction could begin as early as next summer if things flow through the process smoothly. Or it could not happen at all.