By ROSEMARY SHINOHARA
Anchorage Daily News
Published: September 2, 2005
Last Modified: September 2, 2005 at 04:06 AM
A proposal to extend the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail south from Kincaid Park is being revived, with a new route and a lower price tag.
This path would veer from the coastline more than the last version, to avoid the most criticized aspects of the project. Trail users would see the coast from 59 percent of the latest route, compared to 79 percent of a route proposed in 2002.
The earlier estimated cost, $37 million, has been reduced to about $24 million.
The existing Coastal Trail, completed in 1988, travels 11 miles from downtown to Kincaid Park, mostly within view of Knik Arm and the tidal flats. A proposed extension has been under debate for years. It would push the trail another 13 to 14 miles around the city's south coast, from Kincaid Park near the airport to Potter Marsh.
The new route emerged after a year-and-a-half of work that was kept deliberately quiet, partly to ease the stridency of the debate, Mayor Mark Begich said. He has taken a personal hand in managing the project since the city accepted responsibility for the project in 2003.
The state Department of Transportation had picked the more coastal route in late 2002. That choice pleased many because it would open up stunning views and recreational opportunities to bikers and hikers. But there was concern that a trail could hurt the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, in the tidal flats along the length of the shore.
That earlier route mostly along the bluff and shoreline was so controversial with wildlife managers, some community councils and individuals that planners stopped work on it for months in 2003.
Around the same time, the money designated for studies ran out.
Then the Rasmuson Foundation, a private charity, donated more than $450,000 to complete environmental and route studies, the state transferred the project to the city, and city began reviewing more than 2,000 comments and working out problems.
When he ran for mayor, Begich pledged to lower the cost and lessen the trail's effects on personal property and wildlife.
The new route accomplishes that, he said.
"This is a huge economic development for our city," he said in an interview. "I think that was totally lost."
The inland segments of the new route bypass some sensitive wildlife areas, some stretches that would have required the purchase of private property, and sections that would be particularly expensive to build.
The trail continuation would create a unique asset for Anchorage, supporters say. But others have been concerned since the beginning, over the trail's intrusion into wildlife areas, the cost, trail priorities or the effect on their own properties and neighborhoods.
Route information and maps are being made public today at an 11:45 a.m. news conference in City Hall. City officials have briefed key figures in the debate during recent weeks.
Many who favor a coastal route seem willing to live with the compromise to get the trail going. Some still feel there are problems.
The trail would run through Republican Sen. Ben Stevens' west and south Anchorage district, and he is still opposed. He said constituents are upset that private property could be taken through eminent domain "for a recreational trail."
A city spokesperson said the trail is not just recreational; the trail is an economic tool.
Stevens also maintains the money for the trail would take away from the pool of federal money Anchorage gets for roads and maintenance.
Lori Schanche, city project administrator for the trail, said most money for the trail comes out of a different pot, set aside for transportation "enhancements." The enhancement money has to be spent on projects such as trails and landscaping, she said.
Biologist Smiley Shields, who lives on the bluff above the refuge, objects to disturbance of the wildlife below the bluff. Where the prospective trail has been moved upland, he's happy, but there's still quite a bit that would descend to the shore.
The new route, he said, "still affects the major game trail on this side of town. People will still be encouraged to take their dogs out and chase around."
Mike Jens, leader of Friends of the Coastal Trail, which has supported a coastal route, said he's sold on the new plan.
"There's a lot of good things to say about it. I wish we didn't have to go inland. But I'm certainly supportive of trying to make this thing happen," he said. "My biggest fear was we were going to argue about it forever."
The revised route starts in Kincaid Park at the chalet and runs south and east above the bluff for two miles, ducking behind the motocross area.
The trail tracks West Dimond Boulevard to Sand Lake Road, then returns to the coastline. From Bayshore Creek, a gravel segment leads to the Carr-Gottstein peat peninsula, while a paved loop travels through the adjoining neighborhood. The peninsula is a highland that juts out into the flats, offering long views north and south.
From there it stays inland, near Klatt Road and Juniper Street, until just west of Johns Park. It would run on the coast from there to Oceanview Bluff Park and then on the bluff west of the railroad tracks. The trail would cross under the highway just south of where Rabbit Creek and the Old Seward Highway merge, then continue east of the highway to its end at the Potter Weigh Station.
The route also would leave the coastline and make a loop through Bayshore. And it would hook up with trails already in place or being built for a long, triangular loop through Kincaid and along West Dimond, Sand Lake and Raspberry roads.
The city proposes to construct the trail gradually, in nine segments. About $4.4 million worth would be done in conjunction with work on the Seward Highway, and would be paid with federal highway funds.
Just over $1 million worth along West Dimond would be built as part of a city road project.
Construction of the first segment, from the Kincaid chalet, could begin as early as 2007, Schanche said.
The city has planned open houses to explain the route Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights at Klatt Elementary School. The entire report is due out by November, with hearings after that, Schanche said.
Daily News reporter Rosemary Shinohara can be reached at rshinohara@adn.com or 257-4340.