Residents voice opposition to planned trailhead projects

The City is designing four new trailheads to provide access to the Franklin Mountains, but some residents are concerned about potential issues.

The new trailheads include the Roundhouse and Lazy Cow trailheads off Martin Luther King Boulevard in Northeast El Paso. In the Northwest, the City plans to build the Thousand Steps Trailhead at the end of North Stanton and the Thunderbird Trailhead at the top of Thunderbird Drive.

The new trailheads will be paid for by the city with $600,000 in quality of life bonds.

“The trails are already there,” said Paula Powell with El Paso Parks and Recreation, who is taking input from the community. “People are already using the trails at those points. What we’re doing is providing them a place for them to park and to use the trail.”

Among the other amenities being considered are solar picnic tables like this one at the already existing Lost Dog Trailhead, where electronic devices can be recharged. “We have maybe over a hundred recommendations for each trailhead so far,” Powell said.

Not everybody likes the idea. “My concern is just that it’s pristine, it’s beautiful and it’s natural and I think we ought to preserve it the way it is,” said Jerry Schwartz, who lives near the proposed Thunderbird Trailhead.

He’s not the only one concerned about it. “The increased traffic would be a concern to me,” added Thunderbird resident Jonathan Snell. “Also, it might be a hangout for some kids and things like that.”

Other residents seem okay with it. “It’s not really crowded (on weekends), but occassionally we see cars parking along the street,” said Thunderbird resident Tony Furman, who thinks it might help to have some parking. “If there’s parking off the street, it’s probably improvement as opposed to people coming up here on the weekends now and parking in front of our homes.”

The Lost Dog Trailhead was built by the Borderland Mountain Bike Association about five years ago.

“I think we’ve demonstrated that we’re good neighbors, that trailheads can be an integral part of a neighborhood,” said Rick Bonart, a member of the Borderland Mountain Bike Association. “The concerns that were voiced by the community that this would become a site of drug users, that there would be graffiti, that it would contribute to littering, just have not come to fruition.”

A community meeting on the Thousand Steps trailhead is scheduled for Thursday. It’s scheduled to start at 6 p-m in the Bridges Academy library at 4320 North Stanton.