CYPRESS : City Decides to Keep Bicycle Trail Open

The City Council this week reaffirmed an earlier decision to keep the Stanton Channel Bike Trail open, despite complaints by some residents that the trail increased crime in the area.

After reviewing a survey sent to the residents of the College Park housing development revealing that just seven of 29 respondents favor closing the trail, the council decided to keep it open.

“I really think the problem here can be taken care of by the people living there by raising the back wall,” Councilwoman Joyce C. Nicholson said before the vote.

In February, a handful of residents requested the shutdown because they said cars and homes had been vandalized by people using the trail. Several bicyclists spoke to oppose the proposal.

The council then decided to poll residents to find out whether they would be willing to pay for extra security measures.

The council’s decision to keep the trail open was made, in part, after police records indicated that 45 homes near the trail--which runs from Valley View Street to Knott Avenue on the south bank of the channel, just north of and roughly parallel to Ball Road--did not have a higher incidence of crime.

A council consensus could not be reached on other issues, such as raising a wall between the path and the residents’ homes and adding lighting.

The survey revealed that 14 respondents favor paying to raise the wall, while 15 oppose the idea. Similarly, 14 respondents want to pay to light the path; 15 do not.