HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-21-2017 Item 17, CooperCOUNCIL MEETING:_ 3 -21 -JI
MAR 21 2017
ITEM NO.: III i�
SLO
From: Allan Cooper [
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2017 11:07 AM
To: Johnson, Derek <dichnson@slocity.arg>; E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocitv.o>; Harmon, Heidi
<hharmon@sloc_ity,or >; Rivoire, Dan <DRivoire slocit .or >; Pease, Andy <apease@slocity.org>; Christianson, Carlyn
<cchristiansonC&slocity.or >; Gomez, Aaron <a omea sloeity org>
Subject: An Evaluation of Hours of Use for City of SLO Open Space
Dear Derek -
Would you kindly forward the letter below regarding Study
Session Item# 17? This item will be discussed at tonight's
Council meeting. Thanks!
- Allan
To: SLO City Council
Re: Item #17: "An Evaluation of Hours of Use for City of SLO Open Space"
From: Allan Cooper
Date: March 21, 2017
Honorable Mayor Harmon & Council Members -
I am writing this letter regarding your Study Session Item #17 because I will not be in
attendance at your Council meeting tonight. The reason for this is as follows: You have
scheduled a topic of great interest to the public at the end of a very long agenda and most
of us would prefer not to sit through a 5 hour meeting before we're allowed to speak on
this topic. I can only hope this was not done deliberately to discourage public comment.
So follows my letter and I hope you will have time to read it either before or after tonight's
meeting.
Going on walks in a City park at night could be an excuse for a romantic interlude, a way
to breath in the night air filled with the sweet scent of jasmine, a venue for star gazing and
a good way to walk off a heavy meal. Parks should be designed for this sort of activity. But
wilderness areas and nature preserves are not user-friendly at night, neither for the hiker,
for the adjoining residential neighborhoods or for the flora and fauna.
Short daylight hours in the Winter time are accompanied by rain, slippery rocks and
unstable soil conditions. Hiking on wet, muddy trails damages the trail and is hazardous
for the hiker. Hiking through a nature preserve at night is filled with unseen risks posed by
unseen precipices, unstable footing, mysteriously disappearing trails and dense chaparral.
Wearing a lamp, to compensate for these hazards, is an unnecessary disturbance to
wildlife. Mountain biking at night leads to trail degradation and night hiking can often
contribute to trampled vegetation. Residential neighborhoods abutting nature preserves do
not need to hear hikers' voices at night nor do they want their streets after daylight filled
with hikers' parked cars. And, lastly, when hikers need help, who foots the rescue bill?
The taxpayer. Please leave in place the current curfew on night hiking. Thank you!
- Allan Cooper
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