Effective August 7, pedestrians and cyclists will no longer have access to a pedestrian bridge connecting Main Street to Kane Creek Boulevard. La Sal Oil Company, Inc. owns the property behind St. Francis’ Episcopal Church, on which the bridge is located, and recently revoked the City of Moab’s privilege to have the bridge. In the 1980s, the City of Moab signed a contract with La Sal Oil Company Inc. that allowed them to build a bridge across the oil company’s property. The agreement stated that the property owner had the right to revoke the contract at any time. City Manager Donna Metzler said that the city “would prefer, and has indicated, that the path should remain open, but they have every right to take it down.” Metzler said the city is attempting to find another route leading to the bridge that would allow it to remain in place. If those attempts are unsuccessful, the city will have to pay for its removal. La Sal Oil Company Inc., owner Ray Klepzig, said that he plans to use the property for other purposes. He said there have been a few cases of vandalism to the trucks in the back of his Carquest Auto Parts property and he hopes that removing the bridge will help prevent future incidents. Locals living near Kane Creek Boulevard said they use the bridge to get to work and to the grocery store. “The way the town is laid out, the path really makes a difference,” resident David Largo said. “Now I’ll have to go way out of the way to go to City Market from this side of town.” Another resident, Jeanette Powers, said that if the bridge goes, she would have to walk an extra 15 to 20 minutes to get to work. [Photo by Bethany Blitz / Moab Sun News]
