Property owners along Rabbit Lane in Erda spoke in favor at a public hearing Tuesday night of closing the narrow, one-mile long county road to motorized vehicles as long as they can access their farmland that borders the route.
Rabbit Lane runs north from Church Street to Stallion Way west of Stansbury High School. The Tooele County Commission, which held the public hearing, is considering closing the road so it can become part of a walkway for walkers, runners and cyclists known as the Tooele Valley Pathway.
The commissioners will have the final say as to whether or not to close the lane to motorized travel. They wanted to hear from residents who own property adjacent to the lane and others who would be affected by the closure.
“My purpose in regard to this hearing is that we do not cut anybody out if they need motorized access to that road,” said Commission Chairman Wade Bitner.
The proposed Tooele Valley Pathway runs nine miles from the northern border of Tooele City to Lake Point with 14 proposed segments. Rabbit Lane would be near the middle of the pathway, and would be one of the first to be built. It would be the fourth segment of the pathway, according to Tooele County Health Director Jeff Coombs.
“There are only a few of us who would need access,” said Doyle Taylor, who owns farmland on Rabbit Lane. “We prefer only one blockage in the middle instead of two at each end of the lane. We can only come in from the north, so one barrier on the south could be built. It would be the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to do it.”
But John Witkowski, who lives on the north end of Rabbit Lane, prefers two gates on each end of Rabbit Lane. He is the only homeowner who must have open access to his property from Rabbit Lane.
He proposes one gate south of his property and another on the south end of Rabbit Lane.
“If you want this to be pedestrian travel only from the south of my property to the south end of the road, you will need two gates on each end,” Witkowski said. “Otherwise, people will still drive down the road like they do now and will ignore any signs because they don’t care.”
George Curtis lives in the Autumn Cove subdivision and Rabbit Lane runs at the back of his property.
“I’m in favor of closing that road,” Curtis said. “I moved here about two years ago because I loved going down that road. But the traffic on that road is crazy in the mornings and after Stansbury High School basketball and football games. I’m not opposed from having the south end permanently closed and access only from the north end.”
Quinton Selin lives next to Curtis and agrees with his neighbor.
“There are a lot of safety issues and traffic issues with that road and it is only a matter of time until something really tragic happens there with the speed people travel down that road,” Selin said.
At a previous open house, Brad Gillies, avid cyclist and business manager at the county health department, said Rabbit Lane would be unique.
“I think it would be the diamond part of the trail with the improved landscaping,” Gillies said.
Coombs said Kim Clausing, health educator for the county health department, has been meeting with property owners along Rabbit Lane.
“She has done a lot of work with the public on this, and most support changing the use of that road,” Coombs said.
A recent $300,000 budget adjustment from the health department’s fund balance has been earmarked for active transportation projects, such as the Smelter Pathway (also known as the Tooele Valley Overlook) and the Rabbit Lane segment for the Tooele Valley Pathway.