OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A proposed 3.5-mile addition to Olympic Discovery Trail on the north shore of Lake Crescent has gained an unlikely opponent: the Peninsula Trails Coalition.
Although fully supportive of extending the trail alongside the iconic lake, coalition President Andy Stevenson said the group is adamantly against the proposal favored by Olympic National Park because it would be too narrow to be safely shared by both bicyclists and pedestrians.
Additionally, a 0.5-mile section would be too steep for disabled users, Stevenson said.
“To say it’s not ADA [American with Disabilities Act]-compliant and not safe, those are not words we are interested in saying about our trail,” Stevenson said, adding he would encourage users to avoid that portion of the path.
The group spearheaded the idea for the trail, which will eventually connect Port Townsend and LaPush, and helps maintain existing segments.
About 40 miles of the trail have been developed; it will eventually reach 120 miles in length.
6 feet wide
The new section along the lake would include a 6-foot-wide paved section, smaller than the 10-foot width seen elsewhere on the trail, and a 4-foot-wide gravel section for horses along the former Spruce Railroad grade.
Clallam County, which is forwarding $999,990 in state grant funds for the project, has proposed an alternative supported by the coalition that would involve an 8-foot-wide paved trail to bypass the section with the steep, 18 percent grade.
It would keep the horse trail.
But park staff said they are not adopting the proposal because it would involve cutting a few hundred trees to make the bypass, and widening the trail may cause the removal of ballast — the small rocks used for the original railroad bed — which might have historic value.
Teri Tucker, park environmental protection specialist, said the narrower trail avoids having to remove landslides on the former railroad grade.
The park is concerned that excavating the slides would result in the removal of the rocks it wants to protect.
National register
Tucker said the former railroad grade is eligible for placement on the National Historic Register, meaning the park is legally required to preserve it as much as possible.
Stevenson said he doesn’t dispute that but added that he thinks the park is being too careful.
“We can do this without violating either the historical preservation rules or the state requirements for what they want to see this look like,” he said.
Tucker said the park wants to keep the area accessible to equestrians and is not considering eliminating the horse trail to increase the width of the paved portion.
Ross Tyler, Clallam County engineer, said the project would be ineligible for certain federal funding sources if that width is used.
The project, which will also involve the rehabilitation of two tunnels, is anticipated to cost about $1.36 million. It has not been determined what government agency would cover the additional cost or when the project will be completed.
Tucker said the park is not required to make it wheelchair-accessible because it is using the existing terrain.
She said the park is trying to accomplish two things: increase access while preserving natural and cultural resources, such as the railroad grade.
“When there’s a conflict, we have to go on the side of protecting resources,” she said.
But the park’s proposal is nothing the county hasn’t already tried.
Tried before
In 2009, the county built a seven-mile segment of the trail along the same railroad grade to the west of the proposed addition inside the park.
There, the trail has an 8-foot-wide paved section with a 8-foot-wide gravel path for horses.
Tucker said the park does not want to repeat the move because too much ballast was disrupted, prompting objections from the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
Tyler said the county will likely take the issue to National Park Service Regional Director Christine Lehnertz.
“We are disappointed because the intent of the entire Olympic Discovery Trail from Port Townsend all the way down to the Pacific coast is to be an ADA-compliant, usable trail,” he said.
“It’s kind of hard to imagine so many miles being done that met ADA compliance and then having a section that is not.”
Stevenson said the group is seeking support from Rep. Norm Dicks and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.
About two miles of the trail are planned to be built in the Sol Duc area of the national park south of U.S. Highway 101.
The park will be taking comments on the proposal for both sections until Oct. 21.
A decision is expected to follow sometime before the end of the year.
Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes and Tucker said the park likely will not change its proposal unless factual errors are found in the plan.
The document can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/sprucetrail. Comments can also be made through the website.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
