You have been told for years “It’s like riding a bicycle, you never forget how.”
While this may apply to riding a bike, it doesn’t always work in the absence of common sense. Even the more skilled biker can take a spill during a mental lapse.
It seems our Mayor and a few Council members want to open the current bike trail through our stadium perimeter during event days.
Mayor Gillmor cites the inconvenience for bikers and hikers to take the current alternative detour that directs them off the Creek Trail as they approach the stadium.
This detour was reviewed in detail years ago by a half dozen agencies. The decision was made after they had spent months studying every option.
Top of the list in approving the current route, and the major agency to weigh in on this decision, was the Department of Homeland Security.
After all the options were presented by SCPD Chief Mike Sellers, Stadium Security Officer Jim Mercurio, our City Planning Department, the Stadium Authority and Homeland Security the current route was chosen.
Sensitive to the complaints of some bikers and hikers, the Mayor has been leading a Charge of the Bike Brigade to overturn this choice.
So, let’s see; do we cater to the wishes of a few hundred hikers and bikers and put a risk the safety of 65,000 event day fans?
Probably not.
First, this decision was made after thorough discussions with all the agencies including the Big Kahuna, DoHS.
Second, inconvenience is not an acceptable cause for change. (Consider parking in lot 37).
Third, stadium security is a top priority as with every stadium in the Country.
Even though Sellers and Mercurio reviewed the current approved plan in as much detail as allowed in public session, the Mayor was not to be swayed. After all, she is the Mayor.
The Council wrestled with this issue for more than an hour before Council Member Patty Mahan proposed that our Council do an onsite inspection during an event. Since all members of the Council can’t fit that in their schedule for U2’s Wednesday night concert, this will mean at least several Council Member visits over coming months.
Somehow, it just seems this is a bike ride into futility.
While all the good intentions may be applied and good alternatives considered, changing an approved plan with Homeland Security may take an Act of Congress, not gesticulation from our City Council.
While learning to ride a bike may be an unforgettable experience, so it is with past experience by trying to change an approved government plan, which is a painful, pointless and a pathetic political path.