IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD : Arroyo Seco: Whose Needs for Space Come First?

President Theodore Roosevelt, a lover of parks, said on a visit to Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco in 1911 that it would make one of the world’s greatest parks. Although reality fell short of that prediction, the narrow arroyo in western Pasadena encompasses formal and informal parkland, a winding riverbed lined with oaks and sycamores, and developed recreational areas, including the Rose Bowl. On a given day, there can be golfers, racing and mountain bikers, equestrians, hikers, joggers, soccer players, kite fliers, babies in strollers, archers, swimmers, football fans or concert-goers, roller-bladers, children on nature hikes and fly-casting enthusiasts practicing on an artificial pond. With all these needs, potential conflicts abound over land use, safety and environmental concerns have arisen in parts of the arroyo that are being rehabilitated and converted for expanded public use. Through community meetings and workshops, Pasadena is looking to find a common vision for this open space.

THE ARROYO

Slightly larger than New York City’s Central Park and overlooked by historic and ringed by impressive houses, the Arroyo Seco stretches across 950 acres from the Angeles National Forest to South Pasadena. Among the issues are:

1. Pasadena’s newly-formed Hahamongna Watershed Park committee is considering how to reshape 250 acres, north of Devil’s Gate Dam, shown on map, from which tons of silt are being removed. The area includes a section of underground pollution that was declared a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency years ago due to chemicals and solvents discarded there, probably in the 1940s and ‘50s by missile system developers.

2. Browning-Ferris Industries, a waste disposal company, has launched a controversial project to plant native trees to make up for damage from the firm’s dumping operations 20 miles to the west near Granada Hills. Among the concerns are whether water from the arroyo should be diverted into artificial streams to water the trees and if so, how the diversion should be done.

3. A debate is simmering about whether to remove a concrete flood control channel installed in the 1930s and now considered by some water experts as an unneeded barrier to natural habitat restoration.

BICYCLIST

Dennis Crowley, member of the Pasadena Bicycle Advisory Committee

There are horse people who believe the arroyo is their sole domain. I’ve owned a horse but I see the arroyo as an educational center for bikers--teaching kids how to ride and share the trails with other users, including horses. There is a compromise possible: Give the bicycles the east side and the horse people the west side.

EQUESTRIAN

Sandra Specht, activist for the rights of horse riders and a former manager of a South Pasadena stable

I’m a fourth-generation resident of Linda Vista on the arroyo’s west side in Pasadena. Hoof, foot and paws--that’s our issue. We want to keep the arroyo that way. I want to keep mountain bikes off the trails. We only have this area to ride in. Bikers have so many other areas.

ENVIRONMENTALIST

Tim Brick, Pasadena’s representative to the board of the Metropolitan Water District and head of the nonprofit Arroyo Seco Council.

In the purest sense, the arroyo’s not wilderness. But it has wonderful wilderness values in an urban setting. It can be a model of how Southern California can better treasure its water and natural resources--a model significant for the L.A. River and many other streams and open spaces.

We need to develop harmony with nature and among the arroyo users, so we can all share it.

ARCHER

Michael Jenkins, treasurer of Pasadena Roving Archers

One thing we’re concerned about is safety on the range. We’ve got gangs that regularly show up when no one is around. They’ll tag our signs, our target bales. And we’re worried about the latest craze, these pistol crossbows they bring. We have the police patrol that comes through on horseback but it’s not always present.

TO GET INVOLVED

Call the Arroyo Seco Council at (818) 792-2442 and the Pasadena Parks and Recreation Commission at (818) 405-4306.