OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Hurricane Ridge Road could be kept open daily through the winter on a trial basis for up to three years beginning in 2011, if an agreement with the federal Department of the Interior comes to pass.
The Port Angeles City Council members who met with an Interior Department appropriations staff member in Washington, D.C., last week reported at their Thursday meeting that the federal agency will consider a two- or three-year trial.
Port Angeles City Manager Kent Myers, who was accompanied them, said the staff member showed interest in the proposal.
He said that city of Port Angeles and Olympic National Park staff will provide the federal agency with a more formal proposal by May 1.
Myers called the meeting a positive first step but added that nothing is final.
“We still got a long way to go to secure an agreement on it,” he said.
The goal, Myers said, is to begin a trial in 2011.
Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said park staff will work with the city on the final proposal but declined to comment further.
“These discussions are in a very preliminary phase,” she said, “and we will be following up with the city.”
The three council members — Mayor Dan Di Guilio, Cherie Kidd and Patrick Downie — and Myers were in the nation’s capital last week to attend a National League of Cities conference.
They also made stops with the Department of the Interior and the North Olympic Peninsula’s congressional representatives.
Although Hurricane Ridge Road, the sole route to the popular Olympic National Park destination, is open every day in the summer, it is only open Friday through Sunday — weather permitting — from mid-November through March.
The limited access to Hurricane Ridge during the winter has received increased attention from city staff and the council because the road, and therefore, Hurricane Ridge, was closed for about six weeks in January and February because of a landslide.
Park tells of costs
Park staff have said the road can’t be opened more often during the winter because of a lack of funding.
Keeping the road open daily in the winter, except for weather closures, would cost $467,130, the park estimates.
If a trial is approved, the needed funds would be provided by the federal government.
But for the money to remain appropriated after a trial, there would have to be a significant increase in winter traffic, Myers and council members said.
Which is why, if a trial is approved, the city intends to conduct a marketing campaign to attract more winter visitors, he said.
Kidd recommended Thursday that local youth also be encouraged to get more use out of Hurricane Ridge during the winter.
She talked about children in Port Angeles holding signs encouraging President Franklin Roosevelt to create the park during a visit in 1938.
“Once again, we turn to our kids to save our park, and I think that is important,” Kidd said.
Promenade
During the trip to Washington, D.C., the city representatives also lobbied Rep. Norm Dicks and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell for funding for a waterfront promenade.
The city is seeking a $2 million appropriation this year for the project that is intended to attract more pedestrians downtown.
It would include improvements from City Pier to the Valley Creek Estuary, such as wider, more artistic sidewalks with additional seating areas and vegetation. It would also extend the waterfront trail, lined with trees, through the vacant lot on Oak Street.
The estimated cost for design and construction is between $4 million and $5 million.
Myers said the city would have to seek another federal appropriation next year to make it happen.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
