Quotes taken from The Champion
(Quoted mostly without comment)
County officials said no
environmental impact statement has been conducted because it would
significantly increase the cost of the $750,000 project, which is being paid with
2006 greenspace bond money. So no one really knows for certain how many trees
will be lost. “Further study would be nice,” said Commissioner Jeff Rader, who represents the area and walked the
proposed path trail recently. “But it is not within the scope of this budget.”
PATH Executive Director Ed McBrayer, who has helped create more than 100
miles of trails throughout the metro area, said Three Forks folks have it all
wrong. He said less than 11,000-square feet of concrete will be poured for the
path, which is less than the foundations of two homes.
(Three Forks Heritage
“Our mission isn’t to destroy the
forest,” said McBrayer. “Our purpose
will be to provide access to the park the county owns for everyone, not just a
few. And we’ll do it respectively.”(sic)
“I understand
their (Three Forks) opposition,” said Ciliax,
who is a bit dismayed at what she calls misinformation
(???) being distributed by the alliance. “But there are a lot of
seniors and some disabled folks in these neighborhoods who would also like to
enjoy the parks. And I would love to be able to walk to the library without
having to get on the busy thoroughfares.”
Rader, who
called the exact route of the path a work in progress, said because many of us
live near traffic-snarled streets, we are prisoners in our own neighborhoods. A
paved trail connecting communities through what would otherwise be backpacking
terrain is not such a bad thing, he said.
(backpacking? In 20 years on the creek I’ve never seen anyone
backpacking in those woods.)
“We’re all surrounded in some
part by busy roads,” said Rader.
“We’re an auto-oriented society. This trail will allow alternative routes for
non-motorized transportation. It’s a great resource for all of us.”
(yep – transport yourself about a half mile to the bridge and
back!)
(When asked about
why such lax specifications applied to this project)
Rader said “if state or federal funds were involved, the county
could not move forward under its current plan.”
McBrayer of
PATH said he tried to avoid going through residents’ side yards but could not
get the right of way from CSX for an alternate entrance. He admitted that while
they will try to “dodge” everyone during construction, “it’s not going to be
pretty” during construction.
“We’re
going to have to take a lot of trees out to get in there,” he said. “A lot.”
While Ciliax, who is on the steering committee,
acknowledged construction would be the ugliest part of the operation, she said
much of the area would be replanted with trees and shrubs afterward. “And we’re
going to be flexible [in regard to where the path will be built],” she said.
“If there’s an old, big tree, they’ll go around it. We’re not going to cut it
down.”
Please see PATH Disaster at Avondale Estates for what really
happens to trees in PATH projects.