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Got this and sharing. Hope to be there! For better or worse, the Sierra Club locally is on a mission to dismantle an ADA trail that I can actually use. Not happy. - D
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Hello-please share if you find this useful!
More from Sierra Club below. Please, if you can make it to the August 11th public meeting in early evening, very important. Sign up to speak, or as he writes below, submit written comments. Federal law requires that gov funded entities like the city provide as many ADA accessible facilities, trails and programs as possible. An ADA access professional the city and county have hired (John McGovern of Recreation Accessibility Consultants) http://wtengineering.com/rac-llc/ has recommended to the city in writing that one third of all trails be ADA accessible. This was recommended in 2013. The city is nowhere near this number.
This city has 2-3 ADA accessible trails, among 50-70 inaccessible trails. The bosque is the perfect land-form for access. It has flat, low slope and grades, therefore it must be built according to ADA standards. The last section at the end of his note of 'alternative' design approaches is not considered ADA accessible and does not meet Fed guidelines. It will not ensure a stable, firm and consistent path width. This enviro group consistently tries to prevent ADA access and treats the bosque as it's own private hiking space. Speak up or write to the city at the email below. Thanks!!!
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Hello-please share if you find this useful!
More from Sierra Club below. Please, if you can make it to the August 11th public meeting in early evening, very important. Sign up to speak, or as he writes below, submit written comments. Federal law requires that gov funded entities like the city provide as many ADA accessible facilities, trails and programs as possible. An ADA access professional the city and county have hired (John McGovern of Recreation Accessibility Consultants) http://wtengineering.com/rac-llc/ has recommended to the city in writing that one third of all trails be ADA accessible. This was recommended in 2013. The city is nowhere near this number.
This city has 2-3 ADA accessible trails, among 50-70 inaccessible trails. The bosque is the perfect land-form for access. It has flat, low slope and grades, therefore it must be built according to ADA standards. The last section at the end of his note of 'alternative' design approaches is not considered ADA accessible and does not meet Fed guidelines. It will not ensure a stable, firm and consistent path width. This enviro group consistently tries to prevent ADA access and treats the bosque as it's own private hiking space. Speak up or write to the city at the email below. Thanks!!!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Richard Barish <richard.barish@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 3:42 PM
Subject: [RIO-CENTRAL-BOSQUE-ANNOUNCE] Bosque Update: Phase III public meeting rescheduled for August 11; Full moon walk!
To: RIO-CENTRAL-BOSQUE-ANNOUNCE@lists.sierraclub.org
Hello everyone:
The public meeting on Phase III of the Bosque trail construction, from Campbell Rd. to Montaño, has been rescheduled. It will now be held on August 11. The time and place are the same – 6 p.m., Los Duranes Community Center, 2920 Leopoldo Rd. N.W.
Please plan on attending, and please also submit written comments! The Mayor appears to be trying to restrict public involvement and minimize public criticism – the concerns and issues that all of us have been raising. We need to make sure that the Administration knows that our concerns have not gone away! City Council need to know, when it makes future decisions about the Bosque, that Albuquerque citizens do not accept projects that will degrade the experience of nature in the Bosque.
Written comments are important to document our concerns. They can be submitted to: ParksandRecreation@cabq.gov or mailed to: City of Albuquerque, Parks and Recreation Dept., P.O. Box 1293, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103. The City has not yet released specific alternatives that can be commented on. (The City agreed to create the alternatives collaboratively with the Bosque Action Team and others, but, as with other matters, the City breached this agreement.) Some relevant points now might include the following:
> We need to keep hammering on our core point: The thing that what makes the Bosque a place that we all love so well is that it is an unsurpassed urban space for the enjoyment of nature. Any project should not diminish that experience of nature. Environmentally sensitive areas should be identified and avoided.
> A developed trail will result in a significant increase in usage of the Bosque in this area and will inevitably have a detrimental impact on the birds and other wildlife. For instance, the coyotes that used to den near the I-40 to Campbell trail have not been seen this year. The City should engage in projects to compensate for the loss of good, usable habitat caused by the trail project. The City had a restoration plan prepared by GeoSystems for the Central to Campbell Rd. stretch, for which it should be commended (more on that plan in a later email), but the plan is a multi-year undertaking, and the City should ensure full implementation of the plan by committing to fully funding it out of the $2.9 million 2013 appropriation.
> The City should devise and consider alternative trail designs. An obvious, developed feature such as a six foot wide, uniform width, crusher fine trail will diminish the feeling that you are out in nature. Trails constructed of stabilized native materials, with varying widths, including wider areas for easy passing of wheelchairs, can both meet the Administration's access objectives and create a trail that is more in keeping with the natural character of the Bosque.
Thank you for continuing to be involved in protecting the Bosque! We look forward to seeing you on August 11.
From: Richard Barish <richard.barish@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 12, 2016 at 3:42 PM
Subject: [RIO-CENTRAL-BOSQUE-ANNOUNCE] Bosque Update: Phase III public meeting rescheduled for August 11; Full moon walk!
To: RIO-CENTRAL-BOSQUE-ANNOUNCE@lists.sierraclub.org
Hello everyone:
The public meeting on Phase III of the Bosque trail construction, from Campbell Rd. to Montaño, has been rescheduled. It will now be held on August 11. The time and place are the same – 6 p.m., Los Duranes Community Center, 2920 Leopoldo Rd. N.W.
Please plan on attending, and please also submit written comments! The Mayor appears to be trying to restrict public involvement and minimize public criticism – the concerns and issues that all of us have been raising. We need to make sure that the Administration knows that our concerns have not gone away! City Council need to know, when it makes future decisions about the Bosque, that Albuquerque citizens do not accept projects that will degrade the experience of nature in the Bosque.
Written comments are important to document our concerns. They can be submitted to: ParksandRecreation@cabq.gov or mailed to: City of Albuquerque, Parks and Recreation Dept., P.O. Box 1293, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103. The City has not yet released specific alternatives that can be commented on. (The City agreed to create the alternatives collaboratively with the Bosque Action Team and others, but, as with other matters, the City breached this agreement.) Some relevant points now might include the following:
> We need to keep hammering on our core point: The thing that what makes the Bosque a place that we all love so well is that it is an unsurpassed urban space for the enjoyment of nature. Any project should not diminish that experience of nature. Environmentally sensitive areas should be identified and avoided.
> A developed trail will result in a significant increase in usage of the Bosque in this area and will inevitably have a detrimental impact on the birds and other wildlife. For instance, the coyotes that used to den near the I-40 to Campbell trail have not been seen this year. The City should engage in projects to compensate for the loss of good, usable habitat caused by the trail project. The City had a restoration plan prepared by GeoSystems for the Central to Campbell Rd. stretch, for which it should be commended (more on that plan in a later email), but the plan is a multi-year undertaking, and the City should ensure full implementation of the plan by committing to fully funding it out of the $2.9 million 2013 appropriation.
> The City should devise and consider alternative trail designs. An obvious, developed feature such as a six foot wide, uniform width, crusher fine trail will diminish the feeling that you are out in nature. Trails constructed of stabilized native materials, with varying widths, including wider areas for easy passing of wheelchairs, can both meet the Administration's access objectives and create a trail that is more in keeping with the natural character of the Bosque.
Thank you for continuing to be involved in protecting the Bosque! We look forward to seeing you on August 11.
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