(Photos: City of Anacortes)
Construction has started on a short segment of a planned coastal walking/biking trail from downtown Anacortes to the state ferry landing.
Assistant City Planning Director Don Measamer reported to the City Council this week that Strandberg Construction has started clearing and grubbing the trail, working eastward from the Edwards Way cul-de-sac below San Juan Passage. This phase of the trail, about 2,200 feet long according to Measamer, should be completed by the end of summer.
Eventually, the trail will extend all the way to downtown Anacortes, where it will connect with the Tommy Thompson Trail, which runs across Fidalgo Bay to March's Point.
The new trail will be built on an old railroad bed, some of which is apparently not in very good shape. City Council member Nick Petrish said, at Monday's Council meeting, that he believes some of the roadbed has washed away, leaving the railroad tracks hanging in air. The rail route was abandoned in 1961 and has had little or no maintenance since then.
Council member Kevin McKeown said "This is just the kind of thing this city needs." Fellow Council member Cynthia Richardson agreed, saying, "It's nice that this is level, making it easily accessible to everyone, including people in wheelchairs."
Phase 1 of the new trail is a joint project of Gilbrane Properties and the city. The city has budgeted $250,000 for its portion of the project.