On July 25, I attended the city’s meeting for the proposed Oxbow Park and Preserve and was surprised at the turnout. Just a few years earlier the city had similar public meetings for the Animas River Trail that would end at the proposed 3-acre Oxbow Park.

Bicycle enthusiasts came out en masse to speak to the city Parks and Recreation Department in support of the trail and the need for access on the northern end.

It was stated that the 800 to 900 people a day who currently use the trail will have a need for restroom facilities, drinking water and ranger patrol along the trail, and therefore the need to purchase the Sterk/Cameron land for their use. Rumors quickly spread about what an economic boon it will be when professional biking tours start bringing busloads of tourists to town and use Oxbow (Sterk/Cameron) as a drop-off point.

Curiously, none of those people showed up at the meeting last month when the commercial boating companies were asking for a boat ramp to be added to the park to alleviate the congestion along the trail at the current put-in sites.

They want to bring busloads of people who need restroom facilities and drinking water and, yes, there was talk of a ranger patrol to monitor all of the anticipated activity that rafting will add. Because just think of what an economic boon this will all be!

Is it just me, or does anyone else see a train wreck coming?

Jeanne Bignall

Durango