The old stereotype, perpetuated by water parks, poetry and the occasional country-music song, rings true in this case: Rivers really are lazy.
Greeley is piecing together a plan to restore the Cache la Poudre River. It鈥檚 intended to be bold and visionary. But the ethos of the plan, at least so far, appears to be to get out of its way.
鈥淯ltimately,鈥� said Victoria Leonhardt, a senior urban transportation planner for the city of Greeley leading the project, 鈥渨e just want to give the Poudre more room.鈥�
For decades, cities across Colorado abused rivers, using them as dumps, funneling them into canals and surrounding them with concrete and bridges. Greeley wasn鈥檛 any better, and as a result, the length of the Poudre decreased by 15%, or about 2 miles. Squeezing the river increased its speed, and that led to erosion, killed much of the aquatic life and, most of all, led to flooding. It also limited, if downright evaporated, the chances of any recreation.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to say we ignored it,鈥� Leonhardt said. 鈥淏ut as a whole, I felt like we turned our backs on the river.鈥�
To read the entire story, visit .
