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Who
Would Use Klingle Valley park?
By Gabe Fineman, 6-1-02
I remain very confused over the arguments of those who want to keep Klingle Road in northwest Washington closed forever and turn it into a narrow, twisted park. The plan from the Mayor entails rebuilding the road but letting it be used only by the trucks of utility companies (water, sewer, gas, etc. lines are buried there) by using locked gates. The city's 90-foot-wide strip of land would thus be mainly a utility road. The frustration of drivers forced to use Porter Street (already far past its carrying capacity) is immense. However, a real question is who will use this 90-foot-wide "park."
Lately I have been using the Melvin Hazen Park that is the next stream
north of Klingle Road. It is less than 1/2 mile north of Klingle along
Connecticut just past Porter valley and is much larger and much more
pleasant than the proposed Klingle Park. It is underutilized, despite
being maintained very well by the National Park Service and having great
access from Connecticut and lots of parking along Tilden and Rodman. I
rarely see anyone else there, although I do see signs of a homeless
encampment. It defies reason to believe that a park in Klingle Valley
would be used by more than those who used it when the road was open.
Would the City pay for its upkeep? How would people get to it?
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