Many of us in Gedern Village daily walk the trail we own, weather permitting, and have experienced being run down by bicyclists, large dogs and track teams bearing down on us. Our own persons, our small children and our pets are set upon by these outside persons and bikes/pets. Some don't even exercise basic public trail etiquette of alerting that they are coming up from behind.
A certain number of residents own homes along the trail and are concerned about privacy and safety in their own homes with unfamiliar persons traversing our trail.
When my children were small, we were able to use the GV Trail without concern that we'd meet or be run off the trail by unfamiliar people and their bikes/pets. WIth the City's trail paved, this is no longer the case. But the trespassing began soon after the City made its interest in our trail known through its public meetings and reports.
The City has coveted our trail for several years now. At community meetings at the Hampton Inn, Gedern Village residents were united in our opposition to public use or relinquishment of our trail. While today there is not unanimity, a majority of HOA members have thus far voted to retain private ownership of this property. (Similarly, the gazebo at our entrance is a privately owned structure on private land, not for public use. No one has asked. They just use it, especially for special occasion photos.)
That said, the Gedern Village HOA has never voted to:
- permit public use of our trail or other private common lands
- sell or lease our trail to the City of Columbia
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