One thing still missing in the storied history of the American River Parkway is a permanent funding source.
This 5,000-acre natural asset – stretching from the confluence with the Sacramento River to the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area – supports jogging, hiking, bicycling, picnicking, birding, horseback riding, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, sailing and fishing.
Increasingly, however, the county's budget crisis is taking a toll on basic security and maintenance. This year the parkway has lost six rangers; only 17 remain. Half of the maintenance workers – who do repairs, trim trees and clean restrooms – have been laid off.
Measure A, a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2004, has helped by providing $1 million a year. But county spending for the parkway continues to shrink.
To remedy that, elected officials and citizen groups have been exploring a joint powers agreement between Sacramento County (the historical steward of the parkway) and the cities of Sacramento, Rancho Cordova and Folsom to create a "special benefit assessment district."
While a draft agreement is heading toward a Nov. 19 vote of the county's Recreation and Parks Commission – and then on to the county board and the three city councils – major questions remain on the details.
Would the proposed governing structure (two votes for the county, four votes for the cities) fragment the vision and administration of the parkway – giving the cities de facto control though the county owns and operates the parkway? And would the proposed assessment really go toward security and maintenance operations, or toward building new facilities in a parkway that until now has remained a largely natural river setting?
While all this gets hammered out, ordinary folks who use the parkway can help mitigate the funding crisis.
Buy a $50 Parks Passport. The money goes directly to park operations, and covers unlimited day use and parking for a year. It provides a way for people who bike or walk in the parkway to support the parkway – and other parks in Sacramento County. Currently, the county sells only 2,500 passes a year.
Or sign up with the American River Parkway Foundation to do volunteer work.
If you use the parkway, help support it!
What you can do
You can buy a Parks Passport in person at park kiosks and at REI and Patriot Cycles stores. Or get a pass online at www.msa2.saccounty.net/parks/pages/PurchaseYourParksPASSPORTOnline.aspx. To volunteer, contact the American River Parkway Foundation at www.arpf.org or (916) 486-2773.
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