Dust isn’t the only menace at Oceano Dunes

Arlene Versaw’s recent Viewpoint (“Air quality on the Nipomo Mesa: The rest of the ‘dust rule’ story,” March 23) was interesting and offered good suggestions for mitigating the dust problem at the Dunes. Things like restoring the vegetated area near the ocean and placing vegetation islands within the riding area sound promising.

While reducing airborne particulate matter is an important health concern, there’s another one associated with the Dunes that gets little or no media attention. In 2015 alone, there were four deaths resulting from ATV accidents there. Two more occurred between 2013 and 2014. And there have been many more deaths over the years. Although it’s been reported that the county is planning measures to reduce ATV accidents on the Dunes, there have been no follow-up articles to date.

The air we breath is important to keep clean. So is reducing the number of deaths and serious accidents at the Dunes.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Dust isn’t the only menace at Oceano Dunes."