By Ben Spiess
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: February 27, 2003)
Mayoral candidate Rick Mystrom says that the proposed extension of Anchorage's Coastal Trail should run inland, away from the coast.
One of his opponents, Mark Begich, says the trail should run largely along the shoreline.
And Mayor George Wuerch, who's trying to keep his seat in the April 1 city election, says the project should be halted until funding questions are answered.
"We ought to stop right now and say, 'Who is paying for this?' " Wuerch said.
Mystrom, who served as mayor from 1994 to 2000, held a press conference Wednesday to announce his position on where the trail extension should be built. It has become one of the most divisive issues the city has faced in recent years.
The existing, 11-mile Coastal Trail runs from downtown to Kincaid Park. Since the 1980s, city officials and trails supporters have talked about extending the trail along the coast to Potter Marsh.
In recent years, those plans flowered into a rainbow of different routes known by various colors: the orange or coastal route, the yellow or inland route, and other variations such as the green and fuschia routes.
Some who own homes along the shoreline object to a coastal route because it will impinge on their privacy. Others say they fear its effects on wildlife. Many of these critics have pushed the inland route, which would knit together a series of existing neighborhood trails, as an alternative.
"We're trying to force a trail to be coastal when it really should be a neighborhood trail," Mystrom said.
The inland route, Mystrom said, would mean more access points, lower costs and fewer design problems. As currently designed, the inland route would run 16.8 miles from Kincaid Park to Potter Marsh at a projected cost of $24 million.
"If we try to push for the orange route (along the coast), we're not going to have a trail at all," he said.
Begich, a former three-term Anchorage assemblyman, said he supports the orange or coastal route, which would run 13 miles from Kincaid to Potter and cost about $37 million. Begich said he wants modifications to the current design, such as changes near homes on Jarvi Drive, to save money and minimize impact to private property.
The point of a coastal trail is for it to follow the coast, Begich said.
"Otherwise, we ought to start calling it something else," he said.
Wuerch said the Coastal Trail extension, in any form, is not a priority until other trails are built, such as a Ship Creek trail linking Government Hill and Mountain View.
"I've asked that this project be held in abeyance until we know where the money is coming from," he said. Tuesday, the mayor sent a letter to Gov. Frank Murkowski saying that he wants state and federal money to pay for the trail.
Planners have long said the primary funding for the extension would be federal transportation money. The city gets about $6 million a year in federal money to pay for trails. Wuerch said that is not enough to fund Coastal Trail additions and continue other trail projects. A special appropriation is likely needed, he said.
Both Mystrom and Begich also say they want the project paid for with state and federal money. But they part ways with Wuerch on timing. Both called the trail extension a priority and one they want to see move forward in the next three years.
Mystrom, Wuerch and Begich are the front-runners in an 11-candidate race for mayor.
Reporter Ben Spiess can be reached at bspiess@adn.com or 907-257-4464.
To compare Coastal Trail route alternatives, go to: home.gci.net/~southtrail/map.htm.