ORBA Weighs in on Potential Closure of Critical Daniel Boon Backcountry Byway Route
Image Credit: OVR Media Works
Recently, members of our community brought to our attention the proposed closure of a vital connective artery within the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway (DBBB) in rural Eastern Kentucky known as Cawood Road, or Sally Ridge.
This week, ORBA Legislative Director, Laura Butcher, submitted a letter to Owsley County Fiscal Court urging careful consideration of the broader impacts closing this public road.
“Cawood Road is part of the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway (DBBB), a network of public roads that supports motorized recreation, outdoor access and tourism throughout Eastern Kentucky. Individual road segments such as Cawood Road provide the connectivity that makes the larger network possible.
That connectivity has value to residents and visitors alike. Cawood Road provides access within the surrounding area and contributes to recreational opportunities associated with the DBBB. Permanently removing an established public corridor warrants careful consideration of what the public will lose and whether reasonable alternatives to closure are available.
Kentucky law recognizes the importance of that consideration. Under KRS 178.070, the process for discontinuing a county road includes an evaluation by disinterested viewers and the county road engineer and a written report addressing the inconvenience that would result from discontinuance.
SEMA and ORBA encourage the Fiscal Court to consider that inconvenience broadly, including the effects on public access, recreational connectivity, the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway and the County's longer-term economic- development opportunities associated with outdoor and motorized recreation.
Those opportunities are particularly relevant in Owsley County. The Owsley County Fiscal Court is an identified partner in the Appalachian Overland Triangle, a regional initiative led by Backroads of Appalachia and supported by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The initiative is focused on developing motorsports tourism and strengthening tourism economies across participating Appalachian communities.
Preserving appropriate public-road connectivity is consistent with that broader effort. Investments in regional recreation and tourism networks depend upon maintaining functional connections between communities and destinations. Importantly, permanent closure does not appear to be the only path available.”
ORBA and SEMA urge the local community to participate in the public comment hearing that will take place on September 14th at 4pm at the Owsley County Fiscal Court Meeting.
To read our full letter to the County Fiscal Court, click here.
For more information on local efforts to protect this area, please connect with:
Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway
Backroads of Appalachia