Hi George,

I walked on the loop section of the Rivanna Trail and through McIntire Park on Sunday. It led to the following thoughts and questions. Under any scenario, the proposed MCP won't be built for a long time, if ever. City Council is going to consider McIntire Parks future uses at a January meeting. Given all the uncertainty about whether the road will ever be built, or built only boucoup years from now, would it make sense to increase access to the park in the interim? Everyone agrees that access to the park is a major issue. The road proponents and opponents agree on this; the proponents sometimes tacitly seem to say that access can't be improved for walkers, bicyclists, and park users without building the road. This is nonsense. For the next several years we should encourage more "Sunday in the Park" recreation, and increased and diverse access could accomplish this.

There is a lot of excavation taking place next to Schenck's Branch, starting at Melbourne and proceeding toward the park. Apparently a a new sewer line is needed to serve the subdivision planned for the hilltop overlooking Melbourne and Park St. Once the sewer is in, why not use the route to allow people to walk into and through the park?. There is plenty of parking on Melbourne, and although one needs to cross Schenck's branch, it isn't difficult.

On my walk in the park I also talked to a golfer, playing alone, but accompanied by his dog. We commiserated with each other about our "short game". He was hitting several balls onto the sand green. What hit me then was this "golf course" is really not at all like the usual golf course. As a golfer myself, I share the nostalgia for the days when industrial, cart-ferried, time-limited, no ranger-policed, $50 a round golf was not the norm. The type of experience this "golfer" was enjoying couldn't be duplicated on any other course I know. I appreciate the loss that would be experienced by him if the "golf course" was lost to other uses. We''ve lost something for sure. But it also struck me that he wasn't "playing golf" so much as he was out for a walk with his dog, meandering at his own pace, albeit with clubs in hand, enjoying the scenery and the early morning quiet. And isn't that what we want for even more citizens?

Rich Collins (electronic mail, December 1, 2003)