SEQUIM — Paul McHugh has had it with what he calls the “missing link.”
The Olympic Discovery Trail runs across eastern Clallam County, taking bicyclists, dog-walkers and equestrians on a dedicated path — until they reach the edge of Sequim’s Carrie Blake Park.
There the trail stops, creating a sore spot for McHugh, a Sequim City Council member who’s also a Realtor.
The break in the trail, to McHugh’s mind, symbolizes the struggle over allowing outcry from a few to cow the council into doing something that’s not good for the community.
McHugh has long believed that the trail should continue along Fir Street west to Sequim Avenue.
Sound simple? Not if you’ve been a City Council member.
Clallam and Jefferson county planners have been building segments of the trail since the early 1990s.
But Sequim’s leaders have thus far been unable to connect the eastern Sequim leg to the one west of town along Hendrickson Road.
Last year, when some City Council members proposed putting a segment on Fir Street, a few homeowners on that street came to council meetings to protest.
A Blue Ribbon Task Force was formed to examine potential trail and park sites in Sequim, and the panel later recommended linking the Discovery Trail along Spruce Street.
During its study session on Monday, the council heard Public Works Director James Bay’s last presentation on the trail and its missing link.
