Regarding plans to pave the Spruce Railroad Trail along Lake Crescent, we might consider taking a tip from our neighbors to the north.
The biking/walking trail from Victoria to Sooke is paved only in the urban-suburban areas, and then changes to a fine-basalt surface, not gravel.
This trail design dissuades fast bike travel, while allowing safe access for everyone, wheelchairs, elderly, children, strollers, families and even road bikes (who must travel at a slower pace on the natural surface) without fear of cyclists travelling at high-speed, and without the risk of very dangerous pace-lines.
The county seems to believe that paving the trail will improve access for people in wheelchairs, but instead, the paved trail will end-up decreasing access for everyone.
Once a child is maimed or killed by a fast-moving bicyclist along Lake Crescent, is installation of speed bumps in the next phase of the plan?
A. Stafford
Port Angeles