Photo courtesy of Sacramento County
Starting Monday, you might find your favorite entrance to the American River Parkway closed to vehicles. Or fewer port-o-potties, and maybe even more trash on the ground. That’s all because of Sacramento County budget cuts.
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Back in June, county supervisors approved some difficult cuts to the American River Parkway. They include reducing maintenance and closing some – but not all – parkway entrances to vehicles. Bikers and pedestrians will still be able to get in. Dianna Poggetto with the American River Parkway Foundation says her group’s volunteers will increase their cleanup efforts as much as they can to fill in the maintenance gap – starting with the annual Great American River Cleanup on Saturday. But there’s a limit to what they can do.
Poggetto: “Will we necessarily go and pay for a staff person? No, that is not what our mandate is, and that is not what our foundation board wants to do. But we will assist in whatever way we can.”
And the county’s parks system isn’t done taking hits by any means. The next round of budget cuts is up Wednesday, and supervisors could approve reducing ranger patrols, closing Gibson Regional Park and partially closing the Effie Yeaw Nature Center on the American River Parkway.