Pathway Responsibility Comes To A Fork In The Rimrock Road

Rimrock Road has an identity problem.

It’s not a county road, but not quite a city road either.

It appears on maps, but doesn’t officially exist.

“We have a pretty unique situation here,” said Taylor Bressler, operations manager for the city parks department.

The dirt road lies outside city limits, but is part of nearly 600 acres around the Indian Canyon area owned by the city parks department.

Residents on the stretch of Rimrock between Sixth Avenue and Bonnie Drive met with city and county officials last week, hoping to solve the puzzle of who is responsible for their road.

In the past, the county maintained it, providing snow removal and grading. But county engineer William Johns said a tight budget means weeding out service to non-county roads, including Rimrock.

“Basically it comes down to money,” he said. “We can’t even keep up the roads we’re obligated to keep up.”

Bressler said the parks department technically isn’t responsible for a road that is still considered little more than a horse trail, even though cars use it.

But because of high public use along Rimrock, he said, the city might be willing to help out.

Rimrock has been a popular pathway for decades. On any given day, drivers share the road with equestrians, bicyclists and joggers. Visitors also drive along Rimrock to catch a view of the city.

“A lot of people do enjoy this area other than just the people who live here,” Bressler said.

Its popularity was proven a few years ago, when the parks board toyed with the idea of closing the road to public access. Public outcry stopped the notion.

“So many people use this road,” said Orene Harder, who has lived along Rimrock with husband Roger for 31 years. “It needs to be maintained, but I don’t think it’s (the neighbors’) place to do it.”

At last week’s meeting, residents weighed their options for maintaining the road.

One solution would be forming of a rural improvement district.

A similar project occurred 12 years ago with residents who wanted to transform High Drive into a boulevard. The neighbors agreed to tax themselves for upkeep for a 20-year period, after which the parks department will assume responsibility.

While this would be a possibility for Rimrock, Bressler said he didn’t think it would be necessary. “There’s another way to do this,” he said.

Bressler said he’ll take the situation before the parks board, hoping the city will take partial responsibility for the road.

But, he warned, any solution will cost the neighborhood. The city will likely require the road paved and a guardrail installed, at an estimated cost of $135,000. Neighbors, who contend drainage problems would be worsened by pavement, would have to share in the cost.

City and county officials advised the neighborhood to begin by forming an association.

Neighbors hoping for an answer at the meeting left disappointed.

“All I was really hoping for was to get back the original snow removal and grading,” said Harder. “It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.”

Said resident Robbi Castleberry, “At least it seems we’ve been offered a process to come up with a solution.”

The Rimrock neighborhood and the parks department have a history of cooperation, Bressler said. When the area became a site for vandalism and outdoor parties a few years back, neighbors took the initiative in organizing a series of clean-ups.

In return, when the parks department discovered many homes along the road had front yards extending into park property, the department granted easements to residents.

“We have a neighborhood that is used to meeting us halfway,” he said. “And the irony is they’re not even city residents.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Map of area