Thanks for the ‘linear parks’

Recently the La Cañada Flintridge Trails Council earned recognition for completing a 12-mile loop of trails around the city. It is nice to see the volunteers rewarded for their arduous, decades-long effort.

That’s because La Cañadans and visitors are rewarded every day by the work the Trails Council, the city, county and state lawmakers put in to design, fund and build the loop trail.

People on horseback, bike seat and running shoe move through the corridors — former City Councilman Greg Brown called them “linear parks” — that snake through the city and reach parks and hiking trails on the city’s perimeter. The trail is a type of feature that many cities in Los Angeles County could strive for, as so many communities nestle up against the wilderness, but none have done as well as La Cañada.

The calm experience of walking or riding along the trail is the very opposite of the cajoling, wheedling, brainstorming, fundraising, grant-writing, politicking and testifying that was required to deliver the goods. The members of the Trails Council have displayed unwavering patience and perseverance.

On June 7, the Trails Council is holding its annual “Thank You” barbecue at the Flintridge Riding Club, acknowledging its supporters. Perhaps it ought to be the other way around, as the loop trail the council was instrumental in creating is one of La Cañada’s finest assets.