The opening of open space

After the recent election, Boulder County officials immediately approved new open space purchases using revenue from the Issue 1B tax increase.

This year's vote was a squeaker -- the measure passed by 0.86 percent. The county clearly learned something from last year's embarrassing loss, but can obviously no longer count on overwhelming support for program expansions.

Most recent opposition to open space expansion cited higher taxes and the large amount of open space already protected.

But some of the loudest opposition came from the program's biggest fans.

Some withheld support because there are too many bikes on open space trails, others because there is not enough bike access, too many dogs, not enough dog access, too many people and too many trails, or too much open space that is not open to the public.


[more]