This slide show tells the sad story of recent disrespect for our neighborhood by adults and youth.
Currently the City Parks and Recreation Department does not supervise the Dirt Bike Trail or surrounding water district forest. This slide show tells the sad story of recent (and past) disrespect for our neighborhood by adults and youth.
Redmond Parks & Recreation Department asks users to:
1) respect the neighborhood
2) remove litter and keep area clean of litter
3) limit bike use to marked areas.
4) not remove soil within the root zones of trees and shrubs.
Clearly, citizens are not being held accountable to Parks Department guidelines. I couldn't find any "marked areas" but did find a significant cedar tree painted green marking the site of a "tree house". It's not just our kids who need supervision. A short side trail at the terminus of NE 100th St. accesses a dump site. Adults are dumping plastic jungle gyms, picket fencing, boxes, and paint buckets.... right off of 171st Ave. I don't set policy but if this were my park I would shut it down until the neighboring kids and adults cleaned it up. What would you do?
Even though the kids aren't responsible for adult dumping they are privileged to have this beautiful place to ride their dirt & mountain bikes and play in the forest. The neighborhood needs to take year-round care and ownership of this beautiful forest and bike trails. Youth leaders need to step up and monitor the site year-round...not only during the summer. The Parks and Trails Commissioners could visit this "corner forest" periodically to see how the city could help. Neighborhood work parties once a year would go a long way towards restoring the beauty of this forest.
The above is my comment to Mr. Larsen, Parks Director and the Mayor's Parks & Trails Commissioners.
If you want to send feedback to the city I will copy your comments made at this post to Mr. Larsen, the commissioners and the Mayor.
CC: Redmond Police
Mr. Craig Larsen, Parks & Rec. Director
ParksandTrailsCommissioners@redmond.gov
Mr. Mayor
The above is my comment to Mr. Larsen, Parks Director and the Mayor's Parks & Trails Commissioners.
If you want to send feedback to the city I will copy your comments made at this post to Mr. Larsen, the commissioners and the Mayor.
CC: Redmond Police
Mr. Craig Larsen, Parks & Rec. Director
ParksandTrailsCommissioners@redmond.gov
Mr. Mayor
There are mountain bikers who can't use the Skate Park and Dirt bikers who use smaller bikes and can use the Skate Park and Dirt Trail. The jumps are wet and crumble in the winter so use goes way down this time of year.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, when the city wants to control usage, they grade the trail and remove the jumps. This isn't a big deal for the kids 'cause they like to re-construct the jumps and make new ones. It's as much fun for them as riding their bikes.
No doubt this damage was done by the same group of yahoos who vandalized the original Perrigo Springs marker. Wonder how long the new one will last? For the life of me I will never understand the mindset of people who do stuff like this.
ReplyDeleteCarla, you were probably brought up in a stable family-social environment and appropriately disciplined when called for. Unfortunately, most parents have to work now leaving the kids unsupervised. Maybe that's one way a Yahoo's germinates. I think it Yahooism mostly finds it's way to the kids by example of adults.
ReplyDeleteThe Dirt Bike Trail forest defacement may have resulted from winter-time idleness and boredom. Adults dumping trash, folding chairs, fencing, and plastic play furniture may have "given permission" to the kids to dump their trash. Relooking the scenario, I think the kids need positive adult role models to be with them when the site is restored - with or without the city. And the Yahoo bike riders need to do the heavy lifing and (given a "good deed bike sticker")before being allowed back on the trail. Responsible cyclists would ideally police the site year-round or the city could limit summer use. As for Perrigo Spring marker de-facement I don't like to label but I think it's more youth than adult damage. I say this only because kids used to drink beer on the "steep slope" in the summer. It was kinda an encampment on a hill surrounded by trees. They may have lost this site to construction and so took their anger out on the marker. (Just thinking like a party kid!)
I pass by the Dirt Bike Trail virtually every day, walking my companion dog, Sadie. I see lots of kids using the Dirt Bike Trail. Over the years, they have built an extensive dirt bike course. Mostly, the kids are from our neighborhood. But once in a while, I meet someone from outside Ed Hill, who brings a kid and a bikes on a truck.
ReplyDeleteSince the Redmond High School Environmental Studies class does field research on parts of Hartman Park (nearby) and parts of Perrigo Creek (even closer to the Dirt Bike Trail), I suggest that High School students could play a role in supervising the Dirt Bike Trail. High school students could create a plan for taking care of this area. It is after all, an official watershed for City water, and thus an area of interest for science students. It is not an official park, as far as I know. Interested readers can see a complete of official parks on this web, http://trailstoparks.org
Another approach to policing this area would engage the Boy Scout Troop that is based at our neighborhood LDS church. The LDS church shares a border fence with the Dirt Bike Trail. The Boy Scouts are very interested in "green living", these days. Different when I was Boy Scout, and we might have been more interested in yelling, "TIMBER!", when we learned how to use chain saw -- but I digress to my youth.
Of course, Bob is right about adults dropping trash in this area. Lot's of cars park at the corner of 171st Avenue and NE 100th Street. Most folks are walking over to attend services at the LDS church, or walking the trail with an old yellow dog. Over the years, I have seen furniture and ovens dropped off at this location. There are "no dumping" signs, but no one pays any attention. I imagine that dumping is illegal at this location, but the police don't have the man-power to monitor this location. Bob is right that neighbors must take on responsibility for this location.
I believe that homes along 171st Avenue belong to a "neighborhood watch" program. So maybe that program could be engaged to monitor this location.
For those who might be new to Education Hill, this Dirt Bike Trail and forest is really the watershed for Perrigo Creek. Long ago, Perrigo Creek flowed from the top of Education Hill and connected to Bear Creek. Interested readers can learn more at this on-line Redmond History newsletter http://www.scribd.com/doc/12282217/RHS-Newsletter-06-2004
ReplyDelete