Touchet Valley Trail information meeting well attended

DAYTON-On Monday, as many as 101 people attended the Port of Columbia Touchet Valley Trail (TVT) information meeting and to ask questions of the presenters.

Brian Hansen, Principal Engineer for Anderson/Perry & Associates, Inc., shared the 30-percent design documents for the trail. He talked about the results of the surveying and ownership research through titles and deeds.

Ken Voorhis, a Principal Architect with SPVV Landscape Architects, presented the 30-percent landscape design drawings and talked about the character or theme of the trail, which will be primarily historical. Signage will be consistent with agriculture and business communities, he said.

Signage will be important in educating trail users about farming practices, said Tim Schultz from the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Schultz said there have been minimal to zero complaints received by his department at other trails with a close interface with agriculture. He pointed out the diligence farmers must take when applying pesticides.

Clara McQuary, who is with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, said there had been no impact on the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail due to farming practices. Positive relationships with farmers have been established concerning that trail.

Dave Mahan, Superintendent, Ranger/Operations Coordinator for the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail, from Pullman to Moscow, said that trail is a much-loved asset and said problems are few, most likely because the trail is visible from the highway.

Loreen McFaul, Executive Director of the Friends of the Centennial Trail, from Spokane to Coeur d'Alene, said people are increasingly using the trail for biking, jogging, running, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, walking, hiking, and biking, and pointed out the fundraising potential.

McFaul said survey results indicate users are happy with the cleanliness, safety and security, and maintenance of the trail. While homelessness is becoming more visible along the Spokane River, she said that it is not a trail problem but a western states' problem.

Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm said his office will respond to any service call from landowners or people using the TVT trail if it is built.

Maintenance research results and the preliminary maintenance plan were reviewed at the meeting.

"Maintenance is not a stranger to us," said Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson.

The Port of Columbia will be in charge of coordinating maintenance with other organizations, just as it does for Lyons Ferry Marina, the Columbia/Walla Walla Railroad, Rock Hill Industrial Park, and the Blue Mountain Station, she said.

Greg Brown, the Blues Crew leader with the Blue Mountain Land Trust, said his group has successfully organized volunteers to maintain other trails. He is confident the Blues Crew will step up to provide support to the trail.

One idea mentioned is to use an adopt-a-mile approach like the one used for the Centennial Trail.

Other speakers at the Monday meeting included Joy Smith, former President of the Waitsburg Commercial Club, who pitched the trail as a boon to the local economy.

Jennie Dickinson provided a preliminary economic impact forecast sponsored by the Port and the Palouse Regional Transportation Organization.

Dickinson said it is crucial to tap into outside tourism and recreation dollars because the local downtown and retail sectors are hurting.

She said no new taxes are proposed for the trail. The proposed trail is a 10-foot wide, 9.7-mile asphalt trail with two bridges over the Touchet River. The cost estimate is 10.38 million dollars.

Glen Mendell, who is on the TVT Steering Committee, told attendees the civil drawings are draft documents only, and that comments from the public are always welcome and will be integrated into future design documents. Anderson/Perry & Associates, Inc. will have 90-percent design documents ready by July 2022.

A recording of Monday's meeting is available online and at the Port of Columbia office. The Port will take public comment until May 12.

The 30-percent design drawings, 30-percent landscape plans, citizen concerns, the preliminary maintenance outline, and executive summary are posted on the Port of Columbia website at portofcolumbia.org.

The idea for a series of connecting nonmotorized trails going from Dayton to Waitsburg, Waitsburg to Walla Walla, Walla Walla to Milton Freewater, and Milton Freewater to Burbank, arose from a July 2015 Community Council of Walla Walla report on "Enhancing Outdoor Recreation Opportunities." The report examined ways in which added recreation would enhance social, environmental, and economic growth in the region.

In December 2015, local stakeholders attended the annual Columbia County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy meeting and identified a recreational path connecting Dayton with Waitsburg as their No. 2 priority. In December 2016, this was voted the No. 1 priority by stakeholders at the meeting.

Trail planning meetings were held early in 2017 in Dayton, Milton-Freewater, and Walla Walla, to gather public input.

The Blue Mountain Region Trails Plan (BMRTP) was completed and adopted, in Jan. 2018, with the 9.7- mile Touchet Valley Trail (TVT) identified as one of the top priorities in that plan. The BMRT Plan was also adopted by the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization, which serves Columbia, Asotin, Garfield, and Whitman Counties. The Walla Walla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization adopted the plan in Feb. of 2018.

The Port of Columbia then applied to WSDOT for trail design funds through the Pedestrian & Bicycling Safety Program.

Additional public hearings were held, and the TVT concept was adopted into the update for the Cooperative Park Master Plan for the City of Dayton, Columbia County, and Port of Columbia.

In January 2019, the Port began developing a concept plan for the trail through a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service (NPS). Over 40 people attended meetings held in Dayton, to learn more from the NPS.

In June 2019, landowners directly adjacent to the trail corridor were invited to participate in a listening session with members of the TVT Steering Committee.

In October 2019, the Port of Columbia and the TVT Steering Committee, in partnership with the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program, hosted an intensive two-day design workshop to develop early-stage general design concepts for the trail. Design professionals from the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects volunteered their time to facilitate the workshop. The public was invited to attend and provide input during the final portion of the workshop.

Since then, the design concept plan has served as a reference point as formal surveying and design planning has begun.