For decades children have come from all over Gunbarrel to sled on the hills in the water retaining basin located off of South Heatherwood Drive.  Within the past 2 years signs have appeared prohibiting sledding in that area and restricting all sledding on Boulder City owned Open Space to “designated sledding areas.”

We would like to propose that this drainage basin be added as a “designated sledding area” for the following reasons:

1. This is a safe and convenient location for sledding for lots of families in Gunbarrel and Niwot.  There are no trees to hit, no large rocks, and a flat runoff area to stop at the bottom.

2. The area is not environmentally sensitive.  The retaining basin is a man-made water catchment that gathers and slows runoff from the nearby neighborhood.  It’s been heavily impacted by grazing and overrun by prairie dogs.  

3.  This has been a sledding hill for generations.  I’ve heard from many long-time residents who remember sledding on this hill as a kid and feel a sense of loss that it’s been closed to their children.

Thank you for your consideration.