As a soccer-Grandma, I know how much Damon-Garcia Sports Fields mean to our youth. In an age of increasing obesity, diabetes, and asthma, we need to encourage healthful lifestyles. Unfortunately, SLO City’s proposed “northern alignment” for Prado Road does the opposite, transforming 4.5 acres of the Damon-Garcia site into an elevated, cut-and-fill, four-lane truck route adjacent to the sports fields, with a concrete bridge over Acacia Creek and a new signal at Prado and Broad.
Trucks idling at the signal would spew diesel fumes, and the proposed pedestrian underpass to the adjacent South Hills Open Space would be a dangerous place for kids.
Citizens dedicated to Saving Our Sports Fields have qualified a November ballot initiative that will require the city to consider alternatives, such as moving the truck traffic more logically through an already-planned truck route from Prado via an extension of Santa Fe Road to Tank Farm Road and onto Broad. The 4.5 acres would be preserved for additional recreational use, as was the intent of the purchase.
Please consider carefully the scare tactics you may hear from opponents of the initiative. Support health, safety, and—ultimately—tourism and business by protecting our open space recreation.
This article appears in Jul 8-15, 2010.