Anchorage Daily News
(Published: December 3, 2003)
Directors of the Rasmuson Foundation, a private philanthropic group, committed more than $450,000 Tuesday to complete environmental and route studies for the proposed extension of the city's Coastal Trail.
Lack of money, and lack of an agreement between the state and city on how to proceed, had stalled the project for the past several months. A federal environmental impact statement was left unfinished.
"Excellent," said Mayor Mark Begich when he heard the news Tuesday night. "This shows the potential of a public-private partnership on the Coastal Trail. ...We're very appreciative."
Begich had applied to the Rasmuson Foundation for the grant.
Foundation board chairman Ed Rasmuson, who lives along the existing section of the Coastal Trail, has said he personally supports the extension.
The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs 11 miles from downtown to Kincaid Park. The proposed extension would take it 13 miles farther from Kincaid to Potter Marsh.
In a statement Tuesday, Rasmuson said the foundation has a history of helping communities and improving recreational opportunities. "The Coastal Trail is a major asset of the citizens of Anchorage, and its extension will benefit even more Alaskans."
Foundation president Diane Kaplan said opponents of the trail extension had pressed an organized e-mail campaign urging the foundation not to donate the money, but the board voted in favor of it. The board consists of five members of the Rasmuson family and seven other people.
A draft environmental impact statement for the Coastal Trail extension was published a year ago. It proposed a route that mostly follows the coastline.
The state Department of Transportation, which managed the project until May, collected public comments on the draft, but then said it planned to hand management over to the city.
To complete the environmental and route studies, the comments must be analyzed, final decisions made about route and costs, and a final report published.
The state estimated it would cost $725,000 to finish the work, and it was out of money. AMATS, a committee of state and city officials that makes decisions on how to spend federal roads and trails money, didn't allocate any to the Coastal Trail extension for 2004.
But Begich said the consulting firm that is responsible for the environmental report has agreed it can complete the job for $450,000, and the grant will cover it.
The project has been highly controversial. Many residents support it. But others are opposed to a new trail running in or near the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge. Some coastal property owners object to giving up pieces of their private property. Some who are against the trail think it costs too much money.
Jeff Parker, a lawyer representing people who don't want the route to go below the crest of the coastal bluff, said he doesn't think $450,000 is enough to produce an adequate final environmental report.
"It is the worst (environmental impact statement) I've seen," Parker said. It does not properly analyze the effects of the trail on the coastal ecology, he said.
In the draft environmental report, the cost of building the trail was estimated at $37 million.
Begich said with the Rasmuson Foundation grant, the city will push very hard to get the project done for less money. His goals, he said, are to lower the cost, cause minimal impact to homeowners on the route, and to achieve a community consensus on this and other trail connections around the city.
Daily News reporter Rosemary Shinohara can be reached at rshinohara@adn.com or 257-4340.
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