HomeMy WebLinkAboutExtended Open Space Public Comment, Fields
From:Ray Fields <
Sent:Thursday,
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Cerro San Luis expanded hours
Hello City Council,
My name is Ray Fields, and I have been a country resident for 34 years, residing in the city of San Luis Obispo for the last
12. I want to applaud you for your foresight in acquiring and maintaining open space within and around the city, and for
your efforts in building trails for access. I am writing to support the pilot project to allow limited nighttime use on Cerro
San Luis. As you heard at the previous meetings, there are many of us residents who work regular 9-5 jobs, and the
dawn to dusk closure makes it very difficult to get in a ride or a run before or after work. Speaking for myself, and
probably for others, this outdoor exercise time is vitally important to my overall well being. I think that the limited
nighttime access being proposed is a well thought out compromise between the needs of the residents, neighbors to the
trailheads, and the wildlife. In my opinion, the impacts to wildlife will be very minimal, as users are restricted to the
trails (which comprise a very, very small amount of the entire open space), and they must be off the trails by 8:30,
allowing the wildlife many hours of darkness. If you look at other conservation organizations, such as State Parks,
National Parks, Forest Service, and BLM, you will see that they seldom, if ever, restrict any amount of night use. In the
case of State Parks, they may limit night use by having restricted hours of parking at the trailheads, but the trails, and in
many instances, the entire park is open for use 24 hours per day. While there are some in our community who would
like to see unrestricted access in SLO open space as well, I realize that is not a viable option. I think your proposal for the
pilot project is a very valid compromise and will allow everyone to be able to access the trails at some point during their
day throughout the year.
Thank you for your consideration, and for all your work to make SLO such a great place to live.
Regards,
Ray Fields
1