" An answer for parkway woes
"Re "Violence shatters parkway peace" (Our Region, Feb. 9): As the reporting of this recent shooting reveals, the incidence of crime in our beloved parkway is of great community concern.
"Unfortunately, current parkway management – and a persistent funding shortage – have been unable to increase the number of parkway rangers.
"We feel that the most significant change that could occur to raise public safety in the parkway would be to create a dedicated singular management of the parkway through a joint powers authority.
"A JPA would have the capability to raise supplemental funds philanthropically – by creating a nonprofit conservancy – helping provide a dedicated source of funding for public safety, which the current management by Sacramento County has been unable to do.
"The parkway is a signature park with a national reputation and has the capability to enter into this kind of governance and philanthropic fundraising that other parks do not. It is an opportunity worth pursuing."
– David H. Lukenbill, Sacramento American River Parkway Preservation Society
