Just ran across this article in the Arizona Daily Star.
An outcry from homeowners — upset that they didn’t learn of county plans for a bike trailhead in their neighborhood until reading about it in the Arizona Daily Star — has led to the cancellation of work at the site.

The trailhead site along the Catalina Highway “is no longer being considered for this project,” said Ben Goff, deputy director of the Pima County Department of Transportation, in a letter to residents of the area.

“We apologize that this concept appeared to the public in the Arizona Daily Star prior to obtaining public input,” Goff said.
A story in the Star on Dec. 12 noted that the county was providing land and procuring funding for a trailhead, parking lot, water source and other facilities at the site beside the highway between Camino Miramonte and Spruce Lane.

Work on the $215,000 project, aimed at providing a safe staging area for cyclists heading up the highway, had been expected to begin this year. It was to be called the Brad Gorman Memorial Bike Trailhead — in memory of an avid cyclist who was struck and killed by a motorist on the highway 10 years ago.

It is disappointing to say the very least. If you hadn’t seen the proposed park, you can download a PDF to check it out. It looked like a really nice addition to the services for cyclist in the area.

I’m hopeful that it may not be completely dead and that a deal might be struck to continue with the project.

I have an e-mail in to Matt Zoll to get his take on it. I’ll report back when I hear more.

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