By ROSEMARY SHINOHARA
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: May 17, 2003)
Mayor-elect Mark Begich said the municipality under his administration will support the southern extension of Anchorage's Tony Knowles Coastal Trail on a coastal route.
As the official comment period ended Friday on the proposed extension, Begich sent the state and federal governments a letter saying he'll work to cut costs and reduce the amount of residential property affected, and pledging the full cooperation of his administration to advance the project.
He took that position during his campaign for mayor this spring. That's a change from Mayor George Wuerch, whose position was that the Coastal Trail extension should not be a priority until other Anchorage trails are built.
Last fall, the state recommended a route to continue the trail another 13 miles, from Kincaid Park to Potter Marsh. The existing trail runs 11 miles from downtown to Kincaid.
The preferred route was identified in a draft environmental impact statement. The state has been taking public comments on it for six months.
The route is controversial because of the cost, estimated at $37 million, and because of concerns for wildlife and the amount of private property the trail would cross.
Trail supporters have come up with ideas that they say will dramatically reduce both the costs and the property effects.
Begich said he's been talking to homeowners who would lose pieces of their land and oppose the coastal route, and to people who support the route, looking for areas where they can agree.
"As I move into the mayor's office, I'll work more aggressively with both sides," he said.
Begich said the environmental report shows the trail would not significantly harm fish and wildlife.
His comments were among thousands that people have e-mailed, faxed and mailed to the state, said Jim Childers, state Department of Transportation project manager.
The city's position carries a lot of weight, though.
The AMATS committee, which includes the mayor, two Anchorage Assembly members and two state commissioners, is responsible for deciding when to build the trail and how much money to allocate for it.
The trail is expected to be mainly paid for with federal highway money managed by AMATS.
The Legislature has been working on a bill that would restrict the amount of federal highway money to be spent out of "enhancement" funds, those generally used for trails.
But that would not affect how much money AMATS could spend on trails, said DOT spokesman Dennis Poshard. AMATS has the flexibility to use money from any of several accounts for trails, he said.
Childers said the state and its contractor will review all of the comments and investigate issues people raised, such as the ideas for reducing costs and effects on property.
The state has money in place to "get a new direction going, get a good examination of comment and identify how much work it will take to finish the environmental process," he said.
Daily News reporter Rosemary Shinohara can be reached at rshinohara@adn.com or 257-4340.