American Canyoneers - Hole in the Rock Road
To pave or not pave the Hole in the Rock Road... that is the question....
So this concerns me greatly.... American Canyoneers has taken a stance on an access issue with almost ZERO input for their membership and with almost ZERO research on what the impacts will be. I believe this is a knee jerk reaction.
You can read the details here:
http://www.americancanyoneers.org/gs...e-study-hitrr/
But bottom line American Canyoneers is advocating that the Hole in the Rock Road not be paved.
I don't know if paving the road is a good or bad idea, I'd really need more information to establish a sound conclusion.
Here are a couple of quick thoughts... a county normally paves a road when it makes sense economically. In other words, because of higher traffic there is a point in time where it is cheaper to pave the road than it is to maintain a gravel/dirt road. Is easier access a bad thing? If so, bad for who? Certainly not the county who would be responsible for the road.... If limiting access is your goal shouldn't you be advocating for the road to no longer be maintained at all? After a few large storms the road would soon turn into a 4x4 road and greatly limit access....
I'd really be interested in seeing more research and facts from both sides before jumping to a conclusion.... Why does the county want to pave the road? What is the long term projection for the area? Will paving the road actually impact visitation? If so, how much? Is the long term effect going to help or hurt canyoneering? I really hate to see a national access organization jump to a conclusion without some facts, figures and muscle to back up their stance, not to mention a consensus from their membership.... anyhoo... food for thought....