Detour of Laurel Lake Path Riles Walkers

Residents in the Laurel Lakes community are at odds over the fate of a portion of the lakes trail that closed a few weeks ago near North Lake Court.

The North Lake Homeowners Association petitioned city leaders to close the section of the path closest to their community, due to foot traffic and littering. In August, Mayor Craig Moe announced that the city closed the North Lake Court entrance and detoured the trail onto Cherry Lane.

Citizens in the larger Laurel Lakes community soon blasted the city for closing the path, eventually succeeding last week to have it reopened for the time being. Residents, organized by former Laurel councilmember Mike Sarich, mounted a Facebook campaign to save the path.

The seesaw feud between residents has left city leaders scratching their heads on how to determine what exactly the community wants. The city had already invested in improvements along Cherry Lane by installing larger sidewalks that would steer walkers down to the lake.

 “We’ve been back and forth with residents,” said Mike Lhotsky, director of Parks and Recreation for the city. “We’re waffling as much as they are.”

Laurel Lake--with a history dating to the early 1900s--and the adjoining 29-acre Granville Gude Park, play a large role in the city’s park system. The lake includes boats rentals, a playground, a lake house, picnic tables, pavilions and a frequented scenic walking path that meanders around the lake for more than a mile.

Residents opposing the trail closure on North Lake Court contend that the trail was a community feature before the homes were built.

“You wouldn’t move next to a lake and complain about the bugs, would you?” said Jeremy Jernigan, who lives near the path. “Well, there are fireworks at the lake and all different kinds of activities. It’s all pretty obvious, so it’s ridiculous to complain.”

Residents were also irked that the detour takes them down Cherry Lane, notorious in the community for speeding motorists.

“I don’t consider walking along Cherry Lane as an amenity. What was the city thinking?” wrote Callahan Shank on the “Save Laurel Lakes path” Facebook page.

But residents of the North Lake Homeowners Association said they have had to pay a price for living next to the path. Early in 2010, they approached the Laurel city government and the homeowner’s association, saying the number of walkers was too much for the neighborhood.

The littering and the trespassing became extremely excessive, said David Vaughn, community manager for the North Lake Homeowners Association.

“Flower beds were torn up, suddenly you’d have someone blocking your driveway, and people were going into backyards and onto patios,” Vaughn said.

Over the next 18 months, the city and the homeowners association board had a number of discussions, a small survey of residents was taken, and the city presented several options to the board to reroute the nature path off Northlake Court, said Vaughn and Moe.

It was thoroughly discussed move, according to Moe.

While Cherry Lane has a large amount of traffic, it also has many pedestrians because the street is good for walking, said Moe.

“It’s a safe street to walk. The high school is there. Kids walk to school.”

For now, the city has done away with the detour and re-opened the full path, pending the outcome of yearly membership meeting of the North Lake Homeowners Association on Oct. 27.

Moe said he is a waiting what the residents and board have to say.   

“We listened before to the community and we responded. That’s what we will do again.”