Last Modified: September 3, 2005 at 01:35 AM
After months of behind-the-scenes work, Mayor Begich has rolled out a new compromise proposal for the south extension of the Coastal Trail. He's aiming to break the political deadlock that has stymied the project for years. His proposal just might do the trick.
The mayor's political acumen and mastery of detail are on full display with his plan. It still has enough coastal mileage to keep most trail advocates happy -- about 60 percent of the 14-mile route. It also makes strategic inland detours to avoid politically and environmentally sensitive areas, like the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge and the Shore Drive area. Those detours help make the project more affordable. At $24 million, the price has dropped by a third.
Contrary to what critics have charged, the project won't vacuum up all local trail money for years. The mayor envisions building the trail in nine smaller phases that can be funded in manageable chunks over time. Key sections along West Dimond and Potter Marsh can be done as part of future road improvements, a move that makes it easier to fund them. In some places, the city can get no-cost trail easements as new subdivisions are laid out and developed.
The mayor's proposal also deals with another key criticism of past routes. It provides multiple neighborhood access points that include parking.
Getting the Coastal Trail this far required a good deal of resourcefulness from the mayor. He got $450,000 from the Rasmuson Foundation to complete a stalled environmental impact statement. The Carr-Gottstein real estate company stepped forward with donations of parkland that help advance the project.
All in all, the mayor appears to have produced a politically realistic Coastal Trail plan with an affordable price. In a perfect world, the extension would follow the coast more than this one does. But the mayor's version has one overriding advantage: It might actually get built.
BOTTOM LINE: Give Mayor Begich credit for offering a more realistic plan to extend the Coastal Trail in South Anchorage.