Town tackles hiking headache
Cave Creek hires firm to develop Black Mountain trail
by Jason
Stone
CAVE CREEK - With residents near Black Mountain suffering headaches
watching groups of hikers gather near their properties and hikers
themselves having trouble finding places to park near the trail,
Cave Creek Town Council tried to rectify the problem this week.
The council voted March 20 to hire HDR, Inc., to develop a master
plan for the trail which will include solutions to the parking problem.
Councilors had been warned an increased number of hikers would pose
problems when they voted 4 3 to open legal access to the trail last
month.
"I think we put the cart before the horse," Councilwoman
Grace Meet said about opening the trail without a developed plan.
"We're doing this completely backwards."
Since allowing the public legal access, the trail has seen a significant
increase in traffic, including one recent Saturday when an estimated
500 hikers visited the peak. Mayor Vincent Francia urges hikers
to park next to the U.S. Post Office building on the north side
of Cave Creek.
"If they can hike all the way up the mountain, I don't see
why they can't walk to the trailhead from there for now," Francia
said.
The council authorized $26,900 for HDR's services. Leslie Dornfeld
of HDR told residents at the March 20 council meeting that they
are not planning to develop the trail. Most of the work will be
studying access to the trail and parking, she said.
Local realtor Janet Mohr argued that no money needs to be spent
to study the trail and that parking problems can be solved with
little or no cost.
"People have been hiking that mountain since 1935," Mohr
said. "Why are we paying for it?"
Council members are also debating whether there is a need to widen
the trail, an issue that is drawing mixed reviews from the public.
Either way, Francia does not want to see development on the trail
itself.
"The trail you see today is the trail you will see tomorrow,"
Francia said. "There will be no Port O Johns along the side."
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