Based on some recent actions,
I think San Angelo’s city leadership is developing a fence building
mentality.
It appears the city’s
wellness strategy is to “fence’em out and fatten’em up” instead of proactively
supporting healthy exercise by tax-paying citizens.
The city has a history of
spending tax dollars to build fences that restrict access to areas where people
go to exercise.
Several years ago, the city spent
our money to put in a dividing fence across the back part of Middle Concho Park, thus making access to the Spillway Hill trails more
difficult for cyclists, hikers, and runners.
Areas were also fenced off in
Spring Creek Park, the Twin Buttes open space, and at the end of Spillway Road.
Fence’em out and fatten’em
up.
The “fence’em out” philosophy
came up again during a recent city council meeting when Councilman Fleming and
the homeowners around Gun Club Road (KOA loop) proposed building a fence around
the Gun Club Road parking area to discourage people from running and walking on
that public road.
The area where people park to
exercise “is supposed to be designated for wildflowers,” said Fleming.
City Council then directed
city staff to develop options for making the wildflower area (“blooming weed
patch”) a no-parking zone.
Great wellness strategy
–restrict access to a popular fitness venue so that overweight non-exercisers
can drive by in their SUVs and look at the blooming weeds.
The Gun Club Road controversy
stems from (in most people’s opinion) a few homeowners in that area who don’t
want to share the public road with pedestrians and who – in the opinion of some
pedestrians – tend to drive in a reckless manner over the posted speed limit.
To be fair to all parties,
everyone understands that those homeowners are (rightfully so) infuriated by a
few of the walkers and runners who insist on being two or three abreast in the
middle of the road instead of staying on the shoulder.
The inconsiderate pedestrians
present a problem, but building a fence to protect blooming weeds and restrict
access to a popular fitness area is not a reasonable solution. Instead, the runners and walkers who insist
on being in the middle of the road should be cited for violation of section
552.006 of the Texas Transportation Code.
Some city officials and
homeowners also cite safety as the reason for curtailing use by non-residents,
but the number of vehicle-pedestrian incidents on that road does not appear to support
that logic.
Aubrey deCordova, who walks the Gun Club loop on a regular basis, says “I have gone to the KOA loop for a number of years and I have never heard of an accident involving motorists and pedestrians. As a matter of fact, I don't recall any accidents there since I have lived here (1968-present).”
Marlon Miller and Nan Shamblen
feel the same about safety on the road.
“I’ve never heard of or witnessed accidents,” Miller
notes. “I have seen some close calls with drivers going well above the speed
limit.”
Shamblen says her experience
with drivers sharing Gun Club Road have been good “except for a few driving too fast.”
“I have been using the KOA
road for 40 years and I have never encountered an accident between an automobile
and pedestrian.”
There’s also another
interesting side-story related to this issue as recently reported in the State
of the Division blog (http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2013/10/fleet-equipment-leasings-canals-at-lake.html).
Based on the blog article, it
appears that a developer is planning to build a subdivision along the power plant
canal on land directly north of Gun Club Road and south of Red Bluff Road.
If built, this subdivision could
add to the traffic load on Gun Club and possibly necessitate widening part of
the road (which conceivably could include a bike/pedestrian lane). Given that future
possibility, the city might be premature with its plan to fence off the parking
area.
There are two simple solutions to the Gun Club issue.
The short-term solution is to simply educate runners, walkers, and motorists regarding
common-sense courtesy and safety. Pedestrians should stay in single file on the
edge of the road facing oncoming traffic, and motorists should obey posted
speed limits and share the public road in a careful manner.
A striped “walking shoulder” on the inside of the road
would serve as a reminder to pedestrians to stay inside the shoulder line.
The long-term solution would be to make Gun Club a
one-way road (clockwise) from the west end of Mesquite Lane to just past the KOA campground.
Re-stripe the one-way
portion of the road with a 6-foot wide inner lane for pedestrians, place a separator
curb between the pedestrian and motor vehicle lanes, and construct an
off-street asphalt path in the “blooming weeds” natural area from Mesquite Lane to just past the KOA.
All pedestrians would travel counter-clockwise in the
6-foot pedestrian lane and all vehicles would travel clockwise on the motor
vehicle section.
There is also a third even more healthy solution. Since
pedestrians appear to outnumber residents on Gun Club Road, the city could completely close it to all motor
vehicles except for access to the blooming weeds parking area.
Residents living in the area would be required to park
their cars in the blooming weeds lot and then run or walk to their house. That
would solve the problem, and I’m betting the fitness of lake residents would
improve dramatically :)
Ride On, San Angelo, and remember – don’t fence’em out to fatten’em up, just
let’em run and walk for health.
Upcoming Events
Oct 30: ASUFit cyclocross
series, angelo.edu/asufit
Nov 2: Dinosaur Trail Race,
roadlizards.org
Nov 2: 6-hour Dinosaur
mountain bike race, sanangelobicycleassociation.com
Nov 9: Concho Valley Paws Hot
Dog Run, roadlizards.org
Nov 16: West Texas Masochist
Run, roadlizards.org
Nov 23: Turkey Trot 5k,
angelo.edu/asufit
