Crowd, safety problems persist at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman


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HERRIMAN — City leaders and dozens of neighbors of Blackridge Reservoir met Tuesday night to discuss potential solutions to problems that have spilled into surrounding streets with growing crowds at the summer hotspot.

City staff, council members, police and firefighters heard concerns from a packed room of roughly 75 residents on matters like traffic, safety and people behaving badly.

"People are, for heaven sake, hanging their wet clothes on our tree to dry," one resident told the group.

Homeowners said cars have crowded both sides of neighboring streets during peak hours at the reservoir.

"Those roads are not meant for two cars parked on both sides," Tim Sorenson said.

City leaders said they are looking at possible steps to ease the burden on the neighborhood, so they wanted feedback from residents.

Herriman spokeswoman Tami Moody said the city was considering the possibilities of additional parking in the reservoir area and red curbing as well as "no parking areas on surrounding streets, parking permits and charging a fee to access the reservoir.


I don't want to limit it; it's a great thing to bring people to Herriman. But I think there's got to be some way we can make it a safety issue and make it a place that everyone can feel like they can bring their families and enjoy.

–Heather Leister, Herriman resident


City leaders at Tuesday night's meeting noted pros and cons to all the options.

Assistant city manager Gordon Haight said adding 51 new parking stalls to the reservoir would cost about $125,000.

Haight also suggested restricting parking on surrounding streets could simply shift parking problems to other streets.

Councilman Mike Day noted it could be illegal to assess a fee to discourage patrons.

"With that, we have to look at does it increase our liability?" Moody further explained about assessing fees during an interview. "What are the impacts? Do we have to put in a fence?"

Police and firefighters reported on their responses to the reservoir.

Unified Fire Authority Battalion Chief Clint Smith said there had been two drownings and two near-drownings since the reservoir opened.

Smith said firefighters surveyed the area on a recent Tuesday, and estimated close to 140 children under the age of 10 were at the reservoir, and nearly 100 entered the water without floatation devices.

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"(It's) another reminder that safety is everyone's responsibility," Smith said.

Unified Police Department Lt. Troy Carr said officers had issued 77 citations — 55 of which were for parking violations.

No decisions were made Tuesday night, but Moody said action could come as soon as the city council's meeting on Aug. 26.

Residents like Heather Leister encouraged city leaders to take steps to bolster safety and lessen the impact on surrounding streets.

"I don't want to limit it; it's a great thing to bring people to Herriman," Leister said. "But I think there's got to be some way we can make it a safety issue and make it a place that everyone can feel like they can bring their families and enjoy."

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