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Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain This bridge between Joseph and Enterprise is typical of the constraints the Rails-with-Trails planning group must deal with in designing the trail. On the Minam-to-Wallowa portion of the trail there are four bridges and a more than 2-mile section of canyon with no current shoulder for a trail. Buy this photo The design committee presents concept plans in Elgin, Wallowa and Joseph
Rails-with-Trails is still not a project, but the planning process has achieved step three in a four-step process that leads to presentation of a concept assessment report to the Wallowa Union Railroad Authority (WURA).
Step one was the kickoff of the idea and the creation of a team to carry the work through. Step two was the survey of stakeholders, assessments and public meetings. Step three was the presentation of options for construction of the 63-mile trail. Those presentations were made at three meetings in Elgin, Wallowa and Joseph on Aug. 18, 19 and 20.
The entire document outlining the steps, the goals and the findings is available for viewing at Enterprise Public Library and online at www.eou.edu/rails-with-trails. Throughout the process three basic tenets were set forward: the rails would remain in place, no funding would be provided by WURA, and a decision about whether or not to proceed would be made by WURA at the end of the concept planning process.
The survey of residents affected by the project was open from April 14 to June 17. There were two surveys done at that time: one available to anyone on the website and one that was a statistical survey of Union and Wallowa County residents who lived within the zip codes where the rail passed through. The mailed surveys went out to 550 individuals and 150 responded. The majority of respondents (59 percent of those who received paper surveys and 84 percent of those who used the online form) supported some type of trail.
The percentages were different for the 16 adjacent landowners who filled out paper surveys with 25 percent opposed to the entire trail, 19 percent approving the entire trail, and 38 percent supporting certain portions of the trail. Responses of 47 landowners who accessed the online form broke down this way: 57 percent support the entire trail, 21 percent oppose the entire trail, and 19 percent support parts of the trail.
Concerns were very similar for all respondents with trespass, unleashed pets, illegal motor vehicle use, and loss of privacy (for adjacent properties) being the top concerns.
The research group conducted city and county land use reviews, checked the statewide comprehensive outdoor recreation plan, identified 28 properties from Elgin to Joseph on the registry of National Historic Places in addition to historical cemeteries along the route, checked main street assessments and found that the trail project was compatible with all of these reviews and plans.
The design team then broke the 63.5-mile distance into six sections of trail and did some more calculations before coming up with a $14.1 million price tag for the development of the whole project.
Some parts of the trail will be more expensive than others, and alternatives to each development were presented.
For instance, the Minam to Wallowa segment, 12.79 miles long, contains four bridges, 35 culverts and 15 road crossings. For that segment a primitive trail is proposed along the canyon for about 6.75 miles. The next two miles are very constrained, so a different path system would be needed. The team suggests that the trail run in the rail for that section. Developed and improved trails will be made closer to Wallowa and the Nez Perce Trail Interpretive Center to allow local users to make connections to recreational sites.
An alternative to this is using low-traffic county and city roads for about 6.2 miles of the segment and the use of sharrows (shared lane bicycle markings) on the road within city limits.
The final Concept Plan will be presented to WURA by December 2015.
WURA will then consider whether or not they wish to proceed to the actual design phase, where decisions will be made. Before design decisions are made, WURA will need to create governance to oversee fundraising, construction and maintenance of the rails-with-trail. There will most likely be a board, a Trail Advisory Committee, a Trail Technical Advisory Committee, and perhaps other committees.
The most prevalent governance system for rails-to-trails or rails-with-trails is a government agency working with a Friends Group, according to a 2015 National Policy Consensus Center study.
Questions about the process should be directed to Terry Edvalson, tedvalson@eoni.com or Dana Kurtz at www.eou.edu/rails-with-trails.
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