The Natural Environment
We welcome your comments on any and all aspects of the Clear Creek Corridor Master Plan. If what you have to share concerns issues surrounding the natural environment, please leave your comment below. You can also comment on any of the topics at right or respond to comments. Thank you for your participation.
Although the Tucker Gulch corridor appears to be outside the main planning area, and may only be applicable to the trails, there is a great opportunity to improve the portion of the impaired stream from Hwy 93 to the confluence with Clear Creek. This portion of the channel was subject to urban drainage concepts of previous times, with concrete drop structures, check dams, channelization, etc. Imagine seeing a smaller version of Clear Creek pushing up through Tucker Gulch, rather than the disaster that is there. The entrenched channel has no life, where it could in the future be a great location for fishing, birding, or just listening and watching the water flow. Right now it is stuck in the old thought process to get water off the land as quick as possible. I am an engineer, and have designed a lot of those drop structures, channels, and dams, which mostly have failed to accomplish their goals. There is a lot of new work going on to restore these types of channels, and would at the same time provide improved flood protection. I can’t make the meeting, but I ask if it is possible to include that corridor in your planning efforts, please do so.
I love the idea of some of the areas along the creek being a ‘natural’ area……the area that comes to mind would be on the south side of the creek, between the proposed bike trail and the creek bank, west of Illinois.
I’ve only just begun to follow the Clear Creek planning effort and wanted to begin with a general comment about the natural environment. My preference is to maintain/expand an open and “natural” character in the area as much as possible. For example, I feel that the unpaved portion of the Clear Creek trail west of HWY 6 allows residents and visitors to enjoy a different type of experience than can be had on the busier paved portions.
No doubt there will be many suggestions for adding amenities in the Clear Creek area, ranging from statues to playgrounds to restaurants and shops. However, I believe what makes the area special (and could make it even better if future development proceeds in this direction) is its lack of development, commercialization, and crowding with “stuff.”
The area is currently accommodating multiple uses and no doubt will continue to do so. I urge planners to consider openness and lack of development as an essential use and set aside substantial contiguous space for it. There should be ample opportunity to escape frenetic activities and overly intrusive human development and to enjoy the peace of a river, trees, and Golden sunshine.