The justification that this proposed put-in will alleviate congestion at the 33rd Street and 29th Street put-ins is ill-founded. The Oxbow agenda to resolve the problems associated with commercial rafting (and increased river use in general) is nothing more than a Band-Aid approach that likely will create more problems than it will solve.

There needs to be some real change to the city’s long-outdated policies regarding river use and the takeover of our riverside parks by commercial outfitters. As one neighbor across the street from the 29th Street put-in put it, “Families used to come to the park to picnic. They don’t come anymore because of the noise, congestion, smell of diesel fuel from buses and constant loud pep talks given to commercial passengers by the outfitters.”

When did the people who live here, work here and pay taxes here become second-class citizens to the tourists and outfitters? There are viable “out-of-the-box” solutions to this problem that the city needs to take a serious look at. The proposed commercialization of Oxbow Park is not the answer.

Tim Wolf

Durango