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Seniors push for more trails, fewer playgrounds By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings With many young families unable to live in Ashland, it might be time to stop building playgrounds and invest in the trails favored by many older residents. That's the message that was delivered at a recent Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission budget meeting by a group of trails advocates, many of them seniors. The group asked commissioners to set aside $100,000 for land purchases and easements to close gaps in the city's trail network. The commission is in the midst of budget deliberations for the coming fiscal year, and has not taken action on the request. Because of development and landowners closing off access to trails crossing their property, the networks traditionally used by residents are fragmenting, advocates said. "What we're seeing is a steady closure and blockage of our parks," resident Guy Nutter told parks commissioners. "We're losing these parks. Your efforts could make a big difference in preserving these trails - our parks." Advocates said older residents enjoy the health benefits from walking on trails, which can be built and maintained - in many cases by volunteers - at a far lower cost than neighborhood parks and playgrounds. Trails supporters said the city someday could find itself with under-used neighborhood parks and playgrounds as the high cost of housing pushes young families out of Ashland. They pointed out that the Ashland School District already has had to make the decision to close an elementary school. Veteran Ashland City Councilor Don Laws, a liaison to the parks commission, said he has seen the demographic changes in the city. "We're switching from a community with children who use playgrounds to older people who want to get out and walk. You have to change your emphasis because the city is changing," Laws said. Long-time Ashland Parks and Recreation Department Director Ken Mickelsen also has taken note of the changes. "Our customer base is no longer young children," he said. The city's prepared meals and beverage tax - at five cents per dollar on restaurant bills - provides funds for the purchase of parks, open space and trails. Currently, 20 percent of the tax funds land purchases while 80 percent is earmarked for the city's wastewater treatment plant. Parks commissioners have asked the Ashland City Council to put a measure before voters to allocate 40 percent of the tax for land purchases, increase sewage fees to offset losses to the treatment plant and increase system development fees on construction. Projected revenues from the meals tax for land purchases are nearly exhausted. The tax expires in 2010. Without new funding sources, the parks department will have about $500,000 to buy land from projected meals tax revenues and the sale of two department properties that are not suitable for park development, according to Mickelsen. In less than a year, the Ashland Woodlands and Trails Association has gone from a small group frustrated about trail closures to an organization that has hosted work days and won a grant from the National Park Service. The association, along with the Ashland Parks and Recreation Department, drew dozens of volunteers for each of four work parties held to construct trails on the hillsides above the city. "If we want to make trails happen, we need to do it as a community," said Robert McLellan, association president. The group won a grant for technical assistance from the National Park Service, applied for and received non-profit status and formed a board that includes landowners who have publicly-used trails crossing their property, according to McLellan. Hillside development and trail closures on private property, along with a desire to win grants and donations for trails, prompted concerned residents to organize. Continuing its cooperation with the parks department, the woodlands and trails association is planning monthly work days, with a project on the White Rabbit Trail scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22, McLellan said. Additionally, the parks department and association are writing a grant for an extension of the Bear Creek Greenway, he said. The two entities also are cooperating for the development of a comprehensive map showing trails where the public legally is allowed to travel, according to McLellan. Association members have asked the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission to set aside $100,000 for trail purchases and easements as that body continues budgeting for the coming fiscal year. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -