PORT TOWNSEND — Right now, the Larry Scott Trail isn’t much of a workout for committed bicyclists.
The walking and bicycling path that connects the Port Townsend Boat Haven and Four Corners is only 8 miles long, 16 miles round trip.
“For serious bike tourists, it really isn’t much of a ride,” said Jeff Selby, Jefferson County vice president of the Peninsula Trails Coalition.
Doubling the trail’s length, and extending it to Discovery Bay to connect with another portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail would increase regional bicycle tourism and “generate millions of dollars” for local merchants as well as provide tax revenue, Selby said.
The first step is a feasibility study to determine possible routes for an extension of the trail.
To raise money for such a study, the Freddy Pink band is donating a concert Saturday.
Proceeds will go toward funding a feasibility study, expected to cost about $75,000, to determine possible routes the trail’s new portion could follow.
Selby has joined with Gordon Yancey, lead singer for the regional soul band Freddy Pink, to promote the event, a concert and auction that will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday at the McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden State Park.
Admission will be a suggested donation of $20 per person.
“We’ll take more and we’ll take less,” Selby said.
“But we are not going to turn anyone away.”
Freddy Pink, which averages around nine members depending on the size of the horn section, has a repertoire of several hundred songs dating from the 1960s to the present day.
This isn’t the first time the band has donated its resources to regional recreational facilities: A 2010 benefit for Memorial Field brought in about $20,000.
Yancey would like to earn at least that much at Saturday’s concert. His personal goal is $50,000.
“This contributes to the livability and recreational possibilities for the community,” Selby said.
“One of the biggest things is the attraction to tourists, which can generate millions of dollars.”
Selby and Yancey are close friends and often ride the trail together.
Selby estimates about 10 possible routes for an extension. The final list of routes will depend on topography and the ability to acquire land or purchase rights of way so the trail can pass through private property.
Up to $1 million
He estimates the cost of the study would be between $168,000 and $1 million to clear and build the trail, envisioned as eventually having a gravel surface about 10 or 12 feet wide, with a 2-foot shoulder on each side if terrain permits.
While the exact path is yet to be determined, the extension would have three segments: from Four Corners to Anderson Lake, from that point to Eaglemount Road and then up into the tip of Discovery Bay.
At that point, it would connect with a trail in progress that will parallel and in some parts join U.S. Highway 101, eventually picking up the existing portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail between Blyn and Port Angeles.
The completed Olympic Discovery Trail will run from south of Port Townsend to LaPush and be about 130 miles long.
One of the most challenging segments in extending the Larry Scott Trial would be crossing state Highway 20, Selby said.
That would require the construction of either a bridge or a tunnel, he said.
Funding for extension
Funding for the project would come from several sources, Selby said.
He listed as committed stakeholders Jefferson County, the city of Port Townsend, Pope Resources, the Jefferson County Public Utility District, State Parks and the state Department of Transportation.
He hopes to see the project included in Jefferson County’s transportation improvement plan.
To view silent auction items for the Saturday event, go to www.odtbenefit.com.
For event information, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Trail-Benefit.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
