Improving the Arroyo starts with appreciating it

I was pleased to read the Acorn article about the envisioned improvements along the Arroyo Simi.

I think that the first step we can take costs nothing, and that is to recognize that the wash already is an asset to our community and that it can be an even bigger asset.

The arroyo provides the city of Simi Valley with a bridle path, a fire break, a flood control channel and a pedestrian byway.

My family has spent many hours walking or riding up and down the wash. On the weekends I will often put on my backpack and ride my bicycle to the businesses near the wash in order to save a little gas and get a little exercise.

It's nice to take a ride without having to share the way with cars speeding by.

Even though our wash is often channelized in one way or another, I also like to see the wildlife that manages to make a life there, especially along the few stretches where the arroyo is allowed to meander like the entire wash once did.

It's also sad to see the garbage that has built up in the wash over the years. Unfortunately, old tires, mattresses, abandoned shopping carts and trash are also a common sight along the arroyo.

I agree with Mr. Ferber's suggestion that we can go forward without trying to do too much.

In that light, here are a few suggestions that seem prudent: 1) survey the wash and connectors for pedestrian byways that can be opened by simply unlocking a gate or building a foot bridge; 2) have city and county governments accept responsibility for the cleanup of the litter in the arroyo; 3) landscape using drought-resistant trees, shrubs and bunch grasses in lieu of lush planting that will not be sustainable given our future water concerns; 4) get light industries along the arroyo to clean up and maintain their arroyo frontage; 5) get the owners of the numerous abandoned shopping carts to remove them; 6) promote restaurants and other businesses to open frontages to the wash.

I look forward to hearing more about the plans to improve our Arroyo Simi and to learn how I can participate in the effort to help it become the community asset it should be rather than a neglected sewer. Nathan Wilson Simi Valley