Neighborhood Asks for Closure of Trailhead

By Kelly Cannon | [email protected]

Draper, Utah - Dozens of residents spoke up during the public comment portion of the July 5 Draper City Council meeting to voice concerns over a trailhead in their neighborhood. The Coyote Hollow Trailhead starts at the cul-de-sac of Coyote Hollow Court and connects to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and eventually the Potato Hill Trail.

 Residents were concerned about plans to upgrade the trailhead from neighborhood access to primary access. The shift in access is planned in the open space master plan recently approved in April.

“I have great concerns over the heavy traffic and the concerns it’s having in our neighborhood,” Paul Harris, a member of the neighborhood, said. “We can’t accommodate what we have now. We have very narrow streets. If one person parks on one side, we can barely get one car through. If you park on each side, there’s no room for a third.”

Harris said the neighborhood had a house catch on fire last year and because the firetruck could not get through the narrow streets to the home, it ended up burning to the ground.

Harris said the neighborhood is asking the council to look for solutions.

“If you look at the trailheads that are already existing, we think there is accommodations to move people to those trailheads,” Harris said.

Harris referenced the trailhead at the Equestrian Center and the Potato Hill Trailhead. Harris said these trailheads are off major highways.

Susan Davis, another resident in the neighborhood, also addressed the council about the safety issues with having the trailhead upgraded to a primary trailhead.

“Since moving in, we’ve experienced a number of emergency response issues that have really caused concern,” Davis said.

Like Harris, Davis referenced the home that burned down in 2015 and how the firetruck was delayed because it had to maneuver through the narrow streets with parked cars. Davis said the local media did reference the streets and parked cars as the reason behind the delay.

Davis also said there have recently been two emergency situations ian the last year involving mountain bikers.

“Because of the narrow roads and the congestion, the emergency crews had to park at the (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) temple and then transport the injured out of the cul-de-sac,” Davis said. “They were unable to attend to them by the trailhead because they could not get their vehicles down the road.”

With the access already limited, Davis said if the city continues with the plans to expand the trailhead, there is a higher probability for more issues and the inability for emergency crews to get to the trailhead and render aid.

“My personal concern with safety is the ability for firetrucks to respond in case of home or mountain fire and the critical nature for emergency crews to respond to medical issues, including that of my elderly mother,” Davis said.

Other neighbors brought up complaints against the behavior of the existing trail users. Resident Lyle Page said that while he and his family love living in Corner Canyon and love using the trails, they have experienced disruption from outside trail users over the past six years.

“They have little or no regard for the impact their actions have on the homes near the trails,” Page said. “Traffic from the trail users makes it hard to get in and out of your driveway. The roadways and trails are busy all hours of the day and night. Trail users trespass on our property and help themselves to our water hoses. They take shortcuts through our yards. Those coming to and from the trailhead are often loud, rude and aggressive. This has become a real problem and has started affecting us on a day-to-day basis.”

Page said the neighborhood would like to politely request the trailhead be shut down.

Because of the policies around the public comment period, the council was unable to address the residents about their complaints.