𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥

Since the defeat of the Otterson Drive Extension in 2001…

…the Barber neighbors in Southwest Chico have worked with the City of Chico to establish and maintain a Creekside greenway park along Comanche Creek. (Hegan Lane Industrial Park owners had tried to get the city to build them a Creekside entrance to the industrial park and failed due to a hard won referendum that pitted money against people power.)

Over the 20 years the park has been lovingly planted and a network of bike paths established to connect workplaces and the park. (The bike paths went in in 2016 with a 1.2 million dollar grant that is supposed to maintain “urban greening” for 20 years.) Ten years ago they tried to do it again.

In January, without any public notice, the city began plans to leverage a chronic traffic problem on Park and Midway to include a push through of the old Otterson Drive Extension which would shrink the park, put a car/truck bridge over the creek and destroy the bike paths. This is called Hegan Lane Congestion Relief, Phase 2. (Phase 1 is roundabouts at Park/Skyway, Midway/Hegan and Hegan/Otterson--- all of which will likely solve the rush hour traffic jam.)

Phase 2 is nefarious. The study was funded with Camp Fire funds funnelled into the General Fund and community members didn't start to hear about it until August when the route had already been determined. City planners say you can't study Phase 1 without studying (and approving) Phase 2 under CEQA law...

This deviousness is being done under the chaos of the homeless shelter crisis, when fewer community members are visiting the park due to the large number of unhoused people forced to self-shelter there.

People who care about the Comanche Creek Greenway can ride the bikeways and see for themselves. They can start to ask questions about why the city would prepare the park for destruction so soon after establishing it. Citizens can start to deluge the city with photos of neglected roadways, of the potholes and neglect throughout the town. A group is forming under the name NEFR Again to be ready to take further action—find them on FB.

PS Since July 2020 Comanche Creek Greenway volunteers have spent over 1000 hours on the south side of the greenway picking up trash. They meet at 8:30 AM every Friday at the end of Otterson Dr. Please join them to see the greenway with those most committed to preserving it.  

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐔𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐨

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