This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A couple of years ago I had an experience similar to the one described by Randy Astill in his letter of Oct. 25 ("Hunters over bicyclists?"). Unaware that it was the weekend of "the Hunt" in Utah, I rode my bicycle to City Creek Canyon, only to be stopped at the entrance and told that I could only go up the canyon if I were driving a vehicle, carrying a gun and were licensed to kill some wildlife (deer).
My first thought back then was: "Say what?!? This is City Creek Canyon! The city's own web site describes it as a 'nature preserve.' What are hunters doing in the canyon at all, let alone to the exclusion of all other canyon users and visitors?"
Today my first thought on reading Astill's letter was: Surely it is time for Phil Lyman — Utah's infamous "County Commissioner of the Year" — to come north to Salt Lake City and prove both that he is deserving of that award and that he is truly serious about opposing government road closures, by leading a protest ride (this time on bicycles) up City Creek Canyon on the weekend of the Hunt. For surely it is an egregious case of "government overreach" for them to shut down a popular and well-travelled, paved and universally recognized public thoroughfare (none of the ambiguity of Recapture Canyon on this issue).
Paul Haanstad
Salt Lake City