HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/6/2021 Item 4b, Slaughter
Delgado, Adriana
From:Clint Slaughter <clintslaughter@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, October
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Bicycle Routes and Bike Parks in San Luis Obispo
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Esteemed Committee and Council Members,
I have lived in San Luis Obispo for the last 17 years, working in our local hospitals, raising a family, and being an avid user
of our amazing outdoor recreation areas through running, mountain biking, hiking, swimming, tennis, soccer, playing in
playgrounds with kids, and even karate in the park during the pandemic. I appreciate all the SLO Parks and Rec has
done, and I am proud to live in a place that people come to from around the world to partake in our incredible parks and
resources. In fact, a couple of years ago, we had residency friends from Utah, Massachusetts, and Colorado come to SLO
for a biking trip similar to other trips we had organized to Moab and the Rockies, and with Montana De Oro, the West
Grade, Cerro San Luis, and Irish Hills biking areas, SLO has world class recreation.
However, as we have travelled to places like Durango and Bend, we have noticed a larger presence and integration of
Parks and Rec into the soul of the cities, with kayaking and biking trails going right through the cities themselves, and a
feeling that outdoor recreation is part of the lifeblood of the city. A feeling that San Luis Obispo approaches but does
not quite achieve. While we have been improving commuter biking through the city (thank you!), and CCMB has done
amazing things in collaboration with the County and City with local trails, it was disappointing to see the jumps behind
Cosco bulldozed, and further disappointing to hear proposals of a bike park way down by the Bob Jones trail, which
would severely limit accessibility for many people and most of our youth.
It is incredible that we have technical mountain biking in the center of town at Cerro San Luis, and more on the outskirts
of town on the East Grade and Irish Hills, and it seems that this is an excellent opportunity to create an unparalleled bike
recreation circuit within and through the city itself, linking these trails and building one or more bike skills parks in the
heart of town. There are already short trails off the railroad recreation trail and a mini course next to Sinsheimer Park,
and there is also ample area around Laguna lake for a bike park that can be accessed from the Cerro San Luis trails as
well as the Laguna side. I would imagine an epic bike course running from downtown SLO, over Cerro San Luis, through
Laguna Lake with a skills course, through Irish hills, looping to Johnson Ranch, back up Madonna Road, through South
Hills Open Space, up orcutt road, then through a second skills course and trails at Sinsheimer and the railroad trail, then
back downtown, with the option to head out to Stenner Creek and the West Grade. Community members and tourists
could do the full loop, parts of the loop, with formal races and friendly competitions on Strava, all bringing people back
to our local businesses, hotels, and restaurants downtown.
But I digress, and ask that our City moves forward with increased resources for our Parks and Recreation programs,
expanding our biking resources in-town rather than at the outskirts, and prioritizing an integrated approach to outdoor
recreation into the City proper. These kinds of changes will bring increased tourism to our community, more revenue to
our businesses, and more joy to our citizens.
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Thank you for your consideration,
Clint Slaughter
Clint Slaughter, M.D., M.P.H.
CEO, SLO MakerSpace, Inc.
Emergency Physician, Vituity
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