Jean Gorman, head of the BRAD Fund (Bicycles Ride Alongside Drivers) isn’t yet ready to find a new site for the Brad Gorman trailhead.

“That site on Catalina highway is just an awesome spot to start an awesome day or finish an awesome day,” Gorman said.

Gorman said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry told her in a phone ceonversation that he would schedule a meeting about the proposed trailhead with the neighbors who have complained about the project.

When Gorman started hearing the complaints from the neighbors, she spoke with several cycling groups in the city to find out what they actually needed so that the trailhead could be as unobtrusive as possible.

She said she was was told cyclist didn’t need lights or trash pickup or picnic tables, all of which were concerns raised by the neighbors. The question of safety has also been raised because cyclist would have to make a left turn across traffic to access the trailhead. Gorman said the situation is similar to the trailhead at Saguaro Park East, where cyclist make a left turn into the bicycle facilities. She said that hasn’t created an issue and she belived the left on Catalina Highway would be a non issue as well.

Gorman is dissapointed that the neighbors are upseat about the project and the lack of communication. She was told by Pima County officials the project was so small that the neighbors wouldn’t need be brought into the process , but for Gorman that is not excuse.

“To me that doesn’t make a difference,” Gorman said. “The neighbors thought they should have been brought into it.”

Gorman is hopeful with modifications to the trailhead the neighbors will support the site and the project.

It’s not to memorialize my son, “Gorman said. “I don’t have to do that. It’s about saving lives.”

18 thoughts on “County to schedule meeting with neighbors of trailhead”
  1. If worse comes to worse can the trailhead be moved a bit up the highway to a location that wouldn’t upset the homeowners? Would doing so upset USFS?

  2. If worse comes to worse can the trailhead be moved a bit up the highway to a location that wouldn’t upset the homeowners? Would doing so upset USFS?

  3. Red Star,
    Thanks for the comment!

    I think one of the problems with moving it up is that many cyclist want a little bit of a warm up before they start climbing up the mountain.

    I also suspect the further away you get from existing water and sewage lines the more expensive and less feasible it will be to provide water and restrooms, which are key to the trailhead being useful.

    Without water and restrooms there isn’t a reason to use the facilities.

  4. Red Star,
    Thanks for the comment!

    I think one of the problems with moving it up is that many cyclist want a little bit of a warm up before they start climbing up the mountain.

    I also suspect the further away you get from existing water and sewage lines the more expensive and less feasible it will be to provide water and restrooms, which are key to the trailhead being useful.

    Without water and restrooms there isn’t a reason to use the facilities.

  5. I wish Jean good luck with this, but I’m not holding out much hope – the “objections” proffered by the adjacent property owners aren’t their *real* objections, and this has very little to do with logic or reason. They just plain don’t want “the public” within sight of their property. I sincerely hope I get proven wrong on this though, because it would be a win-win to get a safer parking/unloading site than the side of a busy road, but have it be a simple, unlit parking area at a fraction of the cost of the original proposal.

  6. I wish Jean good luck with this, but I’m not holding out much hope – the “objections” proffered by the adjacent property owners aren’t their *real* objections, and this has very little to do with logic or reason. They just plain don’t want “the public” within sight of their property. I sincerely hope I get proven wrong on this though, because it would be a win-win to get a safer parking/unloading site than the side of a busy road, but have it be a simple, unlit parking area at a fraction of the cost of the original proposal.

  7. It escapes Red Star why we can’t bring our own hydration or, for that matter, go to the bathroom (#1 and #2, forgive Red Star’s crude phrasing) *prior* to the big bad mountain climb.

  8. It escapes Red Star why we can’t bring our own hydration or, for that matter, go to the bathroom (#1 and #2, forgive Red Star’s crude phrasing) *prior* to the big bad mountain climb.

  9. The dichotomy about this project is that
    it’s a parking lot for cars, but considered
    a bicycle facility.
    The trailhead makes sense because for
    a lot of cyclists that may want to attempt
    Mt. Lemmon, it is a 10-15 mi. ‘approach’
    on busy suburban streets which can spoil
    the desire for a bucholic experience on
    the mountain. I’m not one for driving
    somewhere to ride a bike, but this facility
    would serve a large part of the cycling
    community who would be put off by the
    intimidating ride just to get to the start
    of the climb. This is an established pattern
    with all the various trailheads in the
    county and the people around this
    site have no right to deny the use of
    this public parcel for this purpose.

  10. The dichotomy about this project is that
    it’s a parking lot for cars, but considered
    a bicycle facility.
    The trailhead makes sense because for
    a lot of cyclists that may want to attempt
    Mt. Lemmon, it is a 10-15 mi. ‘approach’
    on busy suburban streets which can spoil
    the desire for a bucholic experience on
    the mountain. I’m not one for driving
    somewhere to ride a bike, but this facility
    would serve a large part of the cycling
    community who would be put off by the
    intimidating ride just to get to the start
    of the climb. This is an established pattern
    with all the various trailheads in the
    county and the people around this
    site have no right to deny the use of
    this public parcel for this purpose.

  11. Would anyone here want the proposed facility 50 to 100 feet from their home? I doubt it. This will not just be a bicycle trailhead; the county can’t limit the use to just the bicycle community. Of course most folks won’t care what goes on at the location when they aren’t using it – just the residents will have to deal with those issues.

    Comparing this proposed rest area to the Saguaro East location is like comparing apples and oranges.

    This is an unnecessary use of funds when there are multiple “trailheads” from .5 to 2 miles from this location, in much safer locations. Since there are already trailheads available, we are actually discussing where to put the next memorial to Brad Gorman, aren’t we?

    We should be educating the bicycle community on the available options before we spend another dime for new facilities. The city/county/state are broke!

    If built the county will have to spend thousands, over time, in traffic control and safety devices to make this a safe location.

    I agree with the decision to locate the memorial at another site.

  12. Would anyone here want the proposed facility 50 to 100 feet from their home? I doubt it. This will not just be a bicycle trailhead; the county can’t limit the use to just the bicycle community. Of course most folks won’t care what goes on at the location when they aren’t using it – just the residents will have to deal with those issues.

    Comparing this proposed rest area to the Saguaro East location is like comparing apples and oranges.

    This is an unnecessary use of funds when there are multiple “trailheads” from .5 to 2 miles from this location, in much safer locations. Since there are already trailheads available, we are actually discussing where to put the next memorial to Brad Gorman, aren’t we?

    We should be educating the bicycle community on the available options before we spend another dime for new facilities. The city/county/state are broke!

    If built the county will have to spend thousands, over time, in traffic control and safety devices to make this a safe location.

    I agree with the decision to locate the memorial at another site.

  13. Some of us live at least that close to gas stations, convenience stores, or shopping malls – but you’re special, huh?

    *Any* parking off the road is safer than parking on the road, which is what everybody does now – the so-called safety issue is a red herring. Brad Gorman’s needless death is just a rallying point to get the county to install a facility that is badly needed and just makes good sense on it’s own merit, but as usual, a very tiny minority of rich NIMBYs are having their sense of elitism challenged by this project, and thus have to ruin it for everybody else.

  14. Some of us live at least that close to gas stations, convenience stores, or shopping malls – but you’re special, huh?

    *Any* parking off the road is safer than parking on the road, which is what everybody does now – the so-called safety issue is a red herring. Brad Gorman’s needless death is just a rallying point to get the county to install a facility that is badly needed and just makes good sense on it’s own merit, but as usual, a very tiny minority of rich NIMBYs are having their sense of elitism challenged by this project, and thus have to ruin it for everybody else.

  15. So you built your dream house in a nice, quiet neighborhood and made sure the empty lot near your home was designated flood plain and could never be built on by anyone and they came and built a gas station, mall, convenience store (rest area)? Or did you make a concious decision to move into a home next to a gas station, mall, convenience store? There is a big difference between these two situations – though you see them the same? Interesting perspective.
    Agree with your comment about parking – there is plenty available without this new, expensive, disruptive facility. A majority of the Mt Lemmon riders do not park on Catalina Hwy. Why does anyone park along Catalina Hwy anyway?
    The rest of your comments do not merit comment, but explain a lot about where you are coming from – very sad indeed.

  16. So you built your dream house in a nice, quiet neighborhood and made sure the empty lot near your home was designated flood plain and could never be built on by anyone and they came and built a gas station, mall, convenience store (rest area)? Or did you make a concious decision to move into a home next to a gas station, mall, convenience store? There is a big difference between these two situations – though you see them the same? Interesting perspective.
    Agree with your comment about parking – there is plenty available without this new, expensive, disruptive facility. A majority of the Mt Lemmon riders do not park on Catalina Hwy. Why does anyone park along Catalina Hwy anyway?
    The rest of your comments do not merit comment, but explain a lot about where you are coming from – very sad indeed.

  17. If it was that important to me I wouldn’t move in next to an empty public lot, knowing that designations always change depending on which way the money goes. It’s public land for public use, if it means that much to you then put your money where your mouth is and buy up the land instead of trying to control land you don’t own to the detriment of its actual owners, the public. I don’t see this as being any different than those assholes that move in next to an airport or shooting range, and then make it their life’s work to shut said facility down.

    By the way, if that property is designated flood plain, shouldn’t ALL the adjacent private property be flood plain as well? How did you build – and insure – YOUR house on flood plain?

  18. If it was that important to me I wouldn’t move in next to an empty public lot, knowing that designations always change depending on which way the money goes. It’s public land for public use, if it means that much to you then put your money where your mouth is and buy up the land instead of trying to control land you don’t own to the detriment of its actual owners, the public. I don’t see this as being any different than those assholes that move in next to an airport or shooting range, and then make it their life’s work to shut said facility down.

    By the way, if that property is designated flood plain, shouldn’t ALL the adjacent private property be flood plain as well? How did you build – and insure – YOUR house on flood plain?

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