Utah Free Press

The Next Little Political Controversy in CV

This essay was originally published at KVNU For the People Blog (www.kvnuftp.com)  A new political controversy is brewing in Cache Valley. While similar to the controversies surrounding Wet Water in Providence and Park Strips in Logan, this controversy is on a much smaller scale. I say small because the controversy that is brewing is over the recent closure of River Heights Blvd. in River Heights.

For those of you who have heard of River Heights but may only have a vague notion of where it is, River Heights is a small community nestled neatly between the “Island” and Cliff Side areas of Logan and Providence. It boasts a whopping 1,688 residence is the home of the famed Zollinger’s Fruit and Tree Farm. Incidentally, Zollinger’s Fruit and Tree Farm may be the only commercial business inside the town. I haven’t seen any others.

I live in River Heights near the top of Stewart Hill Drive which is one of the few access roads that serve a small plateau overlooking Logan’s LDS Temple. This is a quiet town and an even quieter neighborhood. While I have only lived in River Heights with my family for about a year and a half now, I’ve never noticed any political rumblings among my neighbors until the city decided to close River Heights Blvd.

After contacting the city offices, which are only open for 4 hours a day, I found out that the city was citing safety concerns as the reason for the closure. The road in question is narrow and drops downhill before coming to a stop sign. While it is understandable that the city might have concerns about safety on this road during winter, after talking to my neighbors, I am not wholly convinced that it is the only reason for the closure.

First, it appears that there was a movement to close the road permanently about three years ago. Eventually the city council decided to change the road to a One Way passage with vehicle being allowed to only go down hill. Apparently this was done to the objections of both Zollinger’s who argued it would disrupt travel to their farm as well as a group of concerned citizens in the Stewart Hill area who collect signatures on a petition to have the road restored to two way traffic. Apparently when the petition was presented to the council, the petitioners were told by the council that they don’t pay attention to things like that.

So, as you can see the town of River Heights may be in for a political fight between those who have long wanted to restrict access to River Heights via River Heights Blvd. and those who regularly use the passage as one of the few easy paths in and out of River Heights.

I would like to note for the record that I am for reestablishing two way traffic to River Heights Blvd. make the investment to widen it if necessary and make any other changes necessary to improve safety on the roadway. That said; I am not completely convinced that there are serious safety concerns on the hill. Many communities are able to maintain much steeper grades for traffic year round. Simply take a short drive on to the benches above Providence to see a prime example of how clean a diligent street crew can leave a road even after the largest of snow storms. Also, any argument for closing the boulevard could equally be made about Stewart Hill Drive which is equally as steep, longer and has two sharp turns in it. Finally, it should be noted that all the traffic that used to travel the boulevard is now being routed through the neighboring residential street causing a dramatic increase in traffic for those residents.

I believe that River Heights must be acting in the best interest of just a hand full of homes that line one side of the road along the boulevard while ignoring the interests of a much larger portion of its electorate who regularly use the road. Finally, River Heights Blvd. is one of the most picturesque roads in the area. I can’t imagine not being able to look down at Logan River or missing the lining fall colors as I descend into Logan City.

I truly hope that city representatives know the kind of political battle they are facing over this one. Closing River Heights Blvd. for many area residents would be equal in mind to closing completely the boulevard that runs by the Temple on the opposite side of the Island Valley.