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Show Forget Paving Editor: In a recent editorial your paper assessed that Garfield residents should support the paving of the Surr Trail. I have tried, but I can't Mr.', of one good reason to suport such a huge expenditure of our tax Monies. Twenty to 25 million dollars is too much to pa ve a remote road that few people will use. The road is already more than adequate all but a few days out of the year. It is far from the four wheel drive road that you called it. It is an imporved two lane graded road. I have driven that road every season of the year in two wheel drive. How moving people to Bullfrog (Kane County) faster is going to help Garfield County is beyond me. It will help Del Webb, and a very few others. If we want to capitalize on tourism we're going to have to come up with some better ideas on how to keep people in Garfield County and on how to best provide the goods and services they want. When I talk to people about why they come to Garfield County, they mention the lack of Disneyland style commercialism and the remoteness and natural beauty of the area. When I ask residents of Garfield County why they stay or why they moved here, they mention the wholesome lifestyle, outdoor opportunities for good fishing and hunting, and the lack of hussle bussle and flashy trash that they find in city life. When I ask people what their main complaints are, they mention that hunting and Ashing are going down hill because of all the pressure from people coming from the outside. They talk about how their lifestyles are changing faster than they can keep up and in ways they don't like. Paving the Burr Trail will not help any of these problems. People are attracted to Boulder and Escalante precisely because they are at the end of the paved road. This could be capitalized on without being destroyed. People come here for adventure, excitement, and for recreation, a renewal of traditional values and ties to the natural beauty of the earth. People can get an "easy trip thru" anywhere. We already have a multitude of fully paved National and State parks. Garfield County can offer a unique and potentially much more valuable experience to go along with the paved experiences of Cedar Mountain, Panguitch Lake, Bryce Canyon, Calf Creek, etc., etc. paving will soon be completed at Kodachrome Basin and over Boulder Mountain to Grover. We don't need to sell out or sell ourselves short. We can provide a unique experience now on the Burr Trail and in Escalante and Boulder, but once it is paved it will be the same as a hundred other scenic roads in the state. Some good reasons not to pave the Burr Trail: 1. It is too expensive there are more important ways to utilize the money. To name a few: (a) reduce govenment spending and inflation from government spending, (b) improve education, (c) youth recreation (Garfield County has no summer recreation programs at all for teenagers), (d) small business loans for tourist enterprises, (e) education to help local residents develop tourist enterprises (f) repair for some of the existing roads that need help, and (g) keeping the road between Boulder and Grover and the road between Panguitch and Brian Head open in the winter. 2. Pressure and protect our current values, lifestyle, hunting, fishing, etc. 3. We don't know the benefit yet of the Boulder to Grover road over Boulder Mountain. Lets see how paving that road affects revenue and lifestyle in the county before we start another. 4. The road building dollars won't benefit Garfield residents. Most of the money will go toward materials purchased outside. Labor, most likely, will go to an outside contractor. 5. In the event of increased' tourism, prices of goods and services will go up, hurting the majority of residents, especially the older people on fixed incomes and low income families. 6. It will not benefit tourists as much as other approaches. 7. It is not merely a paving job as it is advertised. It involves many major cuts and fills, especially at the Gulch. The road will have to be completely changed in a large part of Capitol Reef leaving ugly scars. The road through narrow Long Canyon will require major changes in the course of the wash. 8. No cost-benefit study has been undertaken. I assume this is because it would be revealing of the uncertainty of the benefits. 9. The normal processes of public hearings and information exchange are being bypassed. 10. The only improvements really needed for the present road to be functional year round is a bridge over Bullfrog Creek near the lake and some better reinforcement against washouts where the road crosses creeks. If you had $25 millin dollars to spend in Garfield County where would you invest? As for me, I would consider paving the Burr Trail a very poor investment. Drive the Burr Trail yourself and see what you think. Sincerely Russ Henrie Panguitch, Utah . |
