Sept. 2022 | Vol. 32 Iss. 09
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CHANGES COMING TO BLACKRIDGE RESERVOIR? By Justin Adams | justin.a@thecityjournals.com
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lackridge Reservoir is a favorite recreation destination for many in and outside of Herriman, but it’s also long been a source of headaches for Herriman staff and the neighborhood that surrounds it. With the reservoir reaching its pre-COVID popularity once again, the Herriman City Council has resumed discussions of possible solutions. “The popularity is coming back, and what we’re seeing is that people are not very nice to our staff up there. They’re parking all over the place - even parking on medians in the lot and refusing to move their cars. We have parking issues in the neighborhood again, even though there is a permit program,” said Wendy Thomas, assistant city manager, during a recent city council meeting. “These issues are not new. We’re just back to the pre-COVID problems,” added Deputy Police Chief Cody Stromberg. “Our community services officers have been up there pretty much every weekend since the beginning of summer and conducted proactive parking enforcement. In addition, we’ve received numerous complaints from the neighborhood.” However, the police department can’t
monitor the area 24/7, as that would pull them away from more serious calls throughout the city. So instead, much of the enforcement for the area is handled by seasonal parks and recreation employees, many of whom are teenagers who don’t garner the same amount of respect from visitors as an officer in uniform. “It’s not a fun job. You’re basically doing garbage all day and telling people not to do stuff,” Thomas said. Unsurprisingly, keeping those positions staffed has proven difficult for the city. So what are some possible solutions? The city could completely cut off access to the water, allowing it to continue functioning as a secondary water source but no longer as a recreation facility. They could keep access to the water, but limit recreation to things like kayaks and paddleboards, similar to Daybreak Lake. They could start charging fees for entrance to Continued page 9 Blackridge Reservoir is an extremely popular recreation destination in the hot summer months, perhaps too popular. (Justin Adams/City Journals)
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