"Safety?" Pardon citizens who question claims that safety is a priority After public outcry interfered with the attempt to destroy the Hansen Dam lakes, officials from both the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Recreation and Parks scrambled to provide an explanation of why they’d needed to destroy the lakes. They said the lakes were a "drowning hazard" and that public safety was their chief concern. The community never bought that story. The city has many open bodies of water which present equal or greater "drowning hazards" yet there is no discussion about filling in those lakes, ponds and fountains. And if public safety is really a priority, then why has this critically-needed emergency access road been so neglected? These photos show a "hole" in the only road that provides emergency vehicle access into the interior of Hansen Dam. Citizens first reported the wash-out in the spring. Next to nothing was done. Weeks turned into months of inactivity. It was only thanks to Watershed members who brought the damaged haul road directly to the attention of city officials (showing them these pictures), that this very dangerous area was finally flagged (briefly and ineffectually as the barracades disappeared quickly). For six months now, and counting, this dangerous hazard has caused a serious safety issue in Hansen Dam. A safety hazard which neither the Army Corps nor the Department of Recreation & Parks seems particularly concerned about, or in any hurry to fix. The community wonders… If this damaged road ran through the more affluent area of the Sepulveda Basin, would there be such bureaucratic indifference? Is this another case of Environmental Injustice? |
