CHICO >> Though not on the agenda for Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting, changes to a longstanding route through Bidwell Park motivated Chicoans to express their feelings about the chosen path forward.

Their words, following multitudes of others, proved persuasive, as the council decided to revisit the decision to keep cars off South Park Drive.

Five of 13 speakers addressed that decision during the open public comment period for matters not scheduled for consideration. Each voiced dissatisfaction to some degree, in more measured tones than some councilors have encountered.

At the previous meeting, June 18, a divided council passed a plan to repave South Park Drive and apply the same permeable asphalt over three adjacent parking lots — but also close the entire road to motor vehicles.

That was Option 2; the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission had recommended Option 3, a variation on Option 1 that would have created a separate trail for pedestrians and cyclists; while a majority of speakers favored Option 4, which would have limited the scope to roadway repaving.

Councilor Tom van Overbeek broke from his conservative-majority colleagues to vote along with liberal councilors Bryce Goldstein, Katie Hawley and Addison Winslow in approving Option 2. Mayor Kasey Reynolds, Vice Mayor Dale Bennett and Councilor Mike O’Brien voted no.Per council rules, dissenters may not raise the issue again for a year — but any councilor on the prevailing side may ask to reconsider their vote before then. That’s what several residents requested.

One was Michelle Cottle, who came up to the lectern in a power chair and rose with the aid of a cane.

“Anyone can become permanently disabled,” Cottle said, noting she has cerebral palsy. “Mitigation to damage of the park can be done with speed bumps. … Many of us access that park and would like to continue doing so.”

Ann Bykerk-Kauffman, a planning commissioner speaking on behalf of the Chico Safe Street Coalition, pointed to safety concerns at junctions where parking lot driveways cross South Park Drive. She also spoke against maze gates planned for points of ingress.

“Pedestrians and bicyclists far outnumber vehicles,” Bykerk-Kauffman noted, bolstering her points about intersections and traffic flow.

Parent and cyclist Matthew Willi concurred on maze gates but expressed appreciation for the road closed to cars and encouraged right of way for bikes and pedestrians.

Julian Zener, a physician, likewise urged not using maze gates and asserted that no data indicates collision risks on the road for cars with pedestrians and cyclists.

Neighbor Laura Berry spoke to traffic concerns and turns into the new entry ways and, like Cottle, asked for reconsideration.

That happened after all other items of business. Van Overbeek referenced the avalanche of opposition in requesting a reconsideration. O’Brien, praising him for his courage, seconded the motion, and the six councilors agreed to take up the matter at the August meeting.

Other comments

Beyond the park, speakers addressed the previous day’s shooting at the Eaton and Cohasset alternative camp site as a measure of the city’s effectiveness in public safety — one offering praise for the Chico Police Department, several offering criticism.

“The city has a duty to protect its citizens from known ongoing threats, and now it’s failing us,” Michele Cooper said, also referencing fallen trees and broken sidewalks. “It’s time for the city to do better.”

Others spoke on homeless shelter options proposed by the North State Shelter Team, the new mountain biking park planned near Marsh Junior High, the new bike path on The Esplanade and the cancer screening used by the city for first responders.

With that, half the attendees in the half-full room departed — and missed the major development capping the 81-minute meeting.