The American River is surely one of Sacramento’s most precious resources and access to the river beaches and trails is under attack. The River Park Neighborhood Association is trying to slip through a proposal to construct a fence along the levee at Glenn Hall Park, designed to shut off access to the river from dusk to sunrise. The plan to construct a tubular steel fence with an “exit only” turnstile (similar to the one at the Sacramento Zoo) is part of a proposal to spend money set aside for capital improvements for the River Park, East Sacramento, and Campus Commons neighborhoods. Opponents call the fence proposal an extreme, over-reaction to problems that occurred during the summer m

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 Once again the warm weather has snuck up on us. Soon we’ll be experiencing those magnificent Sacramento nights. Many of us like to take an evening stroll along the levee after dinner with our spouse or partner. Some of us enjoy walking with our children and teaching about the various constellations. Well that may be all in the past, if the River Park Neighborhood Association is allowed to push their proposal to build a steel, tubular fence along the top of the levee with an “exit only” turnstile. At the neighborhood association meeting (4/18) the problems were laid out – groups of teens drinking, and carrying on at Paradise Beach, using foul language, driving out of the parking lot reck

UPDATE: We stopped the proposed levee fence! We overwhelmed them with our mass presence and petition signatures. Actually, River Park Neighborhood Association Board president, Jeff Harris started the meeting with an announcement. Apparently he had received a call just a few hours earlier, informing him that the proposed Levee fence did not and could not meet the requirements of the American Disabilities Act, so the proposal is dead. The River Park Neighborhood Association clearly didn't do their homework. They missed the ADA requirements, the Flood Control regulations, the CA State Land Commission rules and most importantly, they totally miscalculated the will of the neighborhood. Tonight we demonstrated our strong opposition to the plan. For the many of us that showed up, the sweet taste of victory came with a cost. They stole our thunder - we were prepared to make a solid case against the levee fence proposal. I am thankful to all who participated in this brief, but successful, grass roots movement. Hopefully, the experience has made us all pay attention just a little bit more. This is what democracy looks like.

Thanks for all your comments. It appears that many of you agree that this is a bad precedent to set. As I outlined in the article, I think the crime problems (and they are few and minor) can be addressed in a less extreme, reactive way. Steve Cohn is planning to hold a public meeting in response to the growing opposition to the fence proposal. As soon as he sets a date and location, I will post it here.