Monday, May 19, 2014

Palisades Trailhead - Findings from the 2nd Public Charrette

On February 18th, the Planning Division and Parks & Recreation Department held a second community meeting and design charrette to gain additional community feedback regarding public preferences for the design of a proposed trailhead that will serve the Palisades Park. The primary purposes of the meeting included:

  1. Sharing the results of the first public design charrette with the community held in late November;
  2. Presenting and obtaining public feedback on five new scenarios designed after the first community meeting; and
  3. Gauging public preference on the design and direction of public art to be incorporated into the site.

Over 50 meeting attendees participated in three exercises designed to fulfill these purposes and refine and provide greater detail on the information obtained at the first meeting. Findings from the second charrette reinforce many of the minimalist themes communicated during the first. Overall, those scenarios with the smallest footprint received the greatest amount of positive feedback, while amenities such as a cross-walk linking the Palisades Park trailhead to the Billy Rogers Arroyo Park, the provision of a slip-lane along Robinson and a gathering space at the trailhead’s entrance were viewed favorably. Adequate parking balanced by minimal intrusion into the park continued to be a concern with many participants observing that well-hidden on-site parking was a strength of many of the plans.

To view the full report and to learn more about this important issue visit:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pl5mr7nxuqsxew2/Palisades%20II%20Results.pdf

Immerse Yourself in the Franklin Mountains: Become a volunteer.

The community activities, campouts and school field trips have been keeping your park rangers and volunteers busy both in the Franklin Mountains State Park and throughout the city this Spring.  It’s a great time of year to get involved with community programs through volunteerism and be a shining El Paso star.  You can find numerous ways to participate.

One way is by signing up as a volunteer with the Franklin Mountains State Park.  For example, some of our veteran and brand new volunteers have partnered with the rangers in conducting outreach programs, manning booths at events and providing programs for elementary students visiting the park.

These are just a few of the ways you can have an impact in your community through park volunteerism; search for opportunities at any of the three Texas State Parks in El Paso by visiting the following website:  http://ec.volunteernow.com/recruiter/index.php?class=VolunteerNavigation&recruiterID=1353&act=CONTROL:OPP_SEARCH_LINK

Our 2014 FMSP Volunteer Orientation will be in July – Saturday, July 12th through Sunday, July 13th.  This will be the first FMSP volunteer orientation to offer a campout component, which is sure to be a lot of fun.  The Saturday morning portion of the orientation will be indoors; you’ll meet some of our staff, receive presentations on the history of the park, volunteer opportunities, and techniques and tips for effective interpretation.  Saturday afternoon will see the group at the Tom Mays Unit where we’ll take a hike to some of our popular areas in the park; we’ll then set up our tents, dine and relax to close the evening.  Sunday morning will start with a Dutch oven 101 course to prepare our breakfast, wilderness first aid presentations, demos on a couple of our popular school field trip programs, and a hike and service project.

Whether you are already a park volunteer or are just looking into the possibilities, make your plans to join us and send an email to:  Adrianna.weickhardt@tpwd.texas.gov for more information.

New Petition Calls for Saving Land on Both Sides of the Mountain

by Jim Tolbert

Now ready for distribution and signatures is a new 2014 Initiative Petition. It reads:

     The undersigned ask that the El Paso City Council pass the following ordinance:

     The City of El Paso shall preserve, in its natural state and in perpetuity, all of the undeveloped   
     land owned by the City of El Paso (including that controlled and managed by the PSB) on the 
     western side of the Franklin Mountains that is north of Transmountain, east of the EPNG 
     Pipeline Road and south of the New Mexico/El Paso boundary; and shall also preserve, in its  
     natural state and in perpetuity, all of the undeveloped land owned by the City of El Paso 
     (including that controlled and managed by the PSB) on the eastern side of the Franklin 
     Mountains that is north of Transmountain, west of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and south of 
     the New Mexico/El Paso boundary. The City shall take all steps necessary to preserve all of this 
     land and to prevent it from being developed with either private development or major public 
     roadways.

Based on the total number of voters in the last city election (May 2013), a minimum of 2,310
signatures are required for the petition to be validated and taken up by City Council. Any person who is a registered voter in the City (not just the County) of El Paso may sign the petition. If City Council fails to pass the initiative as an ordinance, citizens may circulate and sign the same
petition and, if validated, that petition must be put on the ballot of the next city election for
approval by the voters of the City of El Paso, Texas.

Petitioners believe that preserving the land will alleviate the heavy tax burden placed on all
El Pasoans  because of sprawl.  Rather than paying for itself, unchecked sprawl increases city and school district expenses. Preserving land will also help El Paso conserve its most precious
resource: water. Preserving land will require El Paso to use smarter ways to develop - ways that will decrease our travel and energy expenses and improve our health and our neighborhoods.

The petition is available online at
http://elpasonaturally.blogspot.com/p/2013-initiative-petition.html.

If you would like to help El Paso become a healthier, happier place to live by gathering signatures, please contact Jim Tolbert at diegotolbert@gmail.com or 915-525-7364.

Summer is drawing near in at the Franklin Mountains State Park

by Adriana Weickhardt

At the end of last March, we introduced a new program that ultimately was a huge success – “Yoga on the Rocks”.  The wonderful ladies from Hot Box Yoga came out to lead the program -about 30 participants enjoyed an opening yoga session at the trailhead before heading up to the Aztec Caves for a very cool yoga experience, reconnecting with nature in the caves themselves. Canyon Wrens and White-throated Swifts sang their songs in and around the caves, their calls echoing and bouncing off of the walls and they even seemed to enjoy some of the OM chanting. We are very excited to offer this Yoga on the Rocks with Hot Box Yoga again this month and look forward to seeing you all then!

June is another month full of fun summer activities at the Franklin Mountains State Park.  Starting on June 7th, “National Trails Day”, we’ll be offering an intense hike along the Ron Coleman Trail as well as bike rides in the northeast section of the park.  We’ll have astronomy programs and mine tours in the middle of the month and we’ll conclude with a campout celebrating a national event, the “Great American Backyard Campout”.

The following are upcoming events for t June and July – one of the new activities to look forward to is our Women Only Mtn. Bike Workshop.  For more information or to make your reservations call (915) 566-6441.

JUNE

Sat., June 7:  7:00 a.m.  National Trails Day – Ron Coleman Hike
Fri., June 20:  7:00 a.m.  Women’s Hike – Schaeffer Shuffle Trail
Sat., June 21:  8:30 p.m.  1st Day of Summer Astronomy Program
Sun., June 22:  TBD  “Yoga on the Rocks”
Sat., June 28 – 5:00 p.m. “Great American Backyard Campout”
Sun., June 29:  … continued “Great American Backyard Campout”

JULY

Sat., July 12 – Time: TBD - Franklin Mountains SP Volunteer 
Orientation and Campout
Sun., July 13 – Time: TBD -Franklin Mountains SP Volunteer 
Orientation and Campout