I hike or mountain bike almost daily. I am a steward for the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy and a member of the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills.

I strongly oppose creation of a new trail.

1. Route – I hiked the route of the proposed trail and counted 95 homes in six neighborhoods whose privacy would be affected.

2. Redundancy – More than half of the trail would closely parallel the present Lake Overlook Trail.

3. Existing trail – This trail already impacts the privacy of 52 homes.

4. Origin – A single individual, not the local conservancy, proposed the trail.

5. View – The view from over half the proposed trail is poor. It is better from the sidewalk paralleling the trail.

6. Safety – Currently half of our neighbors’ homes are publically accessible from the present trail. Despite signage, multiple infractions have occurred. A new trail would expose virtually all the homes.

7. Opposition – The six neighborhoods have been polled and 99 percent (203 of 206) signed a petition opposing the trail. Almost 200 attended a public meeting in hopes their strong opposition would be heard. I cannot imagine a strong negative message.

8. Resources – Our tax dollars and the conservancy’s volunteer hours would be better spent on trail maintenance and development within the preserve in the McDowells.

9. Property values – It is hard to imagine how this new trail would improve property values. This was verified by a Realtor at the March 5 meeting.

10. Privacy – Finally, visualize your backyard with a public trail within feet of your patio. Can you honestly say that you would welcome the noise and presence of hundreds of people every week?

In my 50 years of hiking, I have never seen the majority of a trail closely paralleling a sidewalk and another trail.