It is clear that the Mayor has taken a real interest in moving the project forward and has come up with a route that I believe will work for everyone. He has had to make some compromises, but when you hear why and where the trail is going, I suspect most of you will agree this is the best way to move the trail on to the next step and closer to construction.
I hope each of you can attend one of the meetings next week. I'm also hopeful the Mayor's latest route revisions will satisfy many of the opponents, although that remains to be seen. We'll get a sense for what the opposition feels after next week's meetings.
So put it on your calendar and plan to come out and see what's up with the trail. See you there...........Mike Jens
Mayor Mark Begich will brief the media on the latest developments on the proposed extension of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail at 11:30 a.m. Friday in the Mayor's Conference Room in City Hall.
The briefing is prompted by the release of the draft final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the South Extension of the trail. This draft will be released to state and federal agencies the week of Sept. 7. These agencies include the state and federal resource management and permitting agencies with regulatory authority over aspects of the potential project.
Due to the large public interest in extension of the trail, Mayor Begich received permission from the Federal Highways Administration for an unprecedented release of Preferred Alternative route, cost, and construction timing information to the public prior to the actual formal public comment period, which begins in November.
Beginning Sept. 6, the municipality will host three Open Houses at Klatt Elementary to brief the public on the new preferred alternative route. The meetings will be held from 7-9 p.m. Sept. 6-8. After a short presentation each evening, there will be time to view the maps and informally discuss the route with the project team. Formal public comment will taken as part of the EIS process in December.
Shortly after Mayor Begich took office in the summer of 2003, the municipality took control of the long-running environmental planning process from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. In December 2003, the mayor secured a $450,000 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation to fund completion of the stalled EIS for the South Extension.
For more information contact: Michael Johnson, Mayor's Office, 343-7112 or johnsonmf@muni.org