PORT ANGELES — By the end of this year, the Port Angeles waterfront will have a mix of the new and old.
The city expects to complete an esplanade — a walkway that will step down from Railroad Avenue over the water and have seating — on the west side of the ferry terminal by the end of 2012.
This first phase of the city’s ambitious waterfront redevelopment project also will include a makeover of nearly half of Railroad Avenue from the west edge of the terminal to Oak Street, as well as down Oak Street to Front Street, with new pavement, wider sidewalks and landscape and lighting improvements.
Together, that work will cost about
$2.2 million.
The rest of Railroad Avenue will be untouched, at least for now.
Nathan West, city economic and community development director, said the funds, estimated at $1.6 million, aren’t available to complete the other plans for the road, which include a roundabout at its intersection with Lincoln Street.
There’s no timeline yet as to when that will be done.
“It’s really up in the air,” he said.
The city would like to wait until the ferry terminal is rebuilt, to make sure no work has to be redone, and coincide it with any changes to City Pier, West said.
“We just want to make sure it’s coordinated,” he said.
The Port of Port Angeles has said terminal reconstruction will begin late this year and take about two years to complete.
The Port Angeles City Council has also identified a $2.8 million park west of Oak Street to be built after the esplanade.
The rest of the road improvements would come later.
The city has set aside $3.5 million for waterfront improvements, but any more funds would likely have to come from grants or a special property tax measure the council is expected to consider taking before voters, West said.
He said he is confident that money will be available to finish the road improvements, even if the tax is not adopted.
“It’s a matter of being persistent and doing a thorough job with [grant] applications,” West said, adding that the waterfront project has been ranked highly by the Peninsula Region Transportation Planning Organization.
Other aspects of project
The tax also would be used to construct other portions of the waterfront project, including the park.
The plan would cost as much as $17 million to fully execute.
West said the city is waiting to redo Railroad Avenue all at once because it’s more efficient to coordinate it with esplanade construction and the start of the city’s sewage overflow elimination project.
In the fall, Oak Street between Front Street and Railroad Avenue will be dug up to allow new sewer pipes will be inserted into the city’s industrial waterline.
The road improvements will be made once that is finished.
West said construction of the esplanade will make the waterfront more attractive and highly used by residents and visitors. The city also hopes the project will help spur development downtown.
“I think it’s going to be a positive thing for Port Angeles to see it actually implemented on the ground,” he said.
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
