On November 16, 2015, the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) took a crucial step toward completing a vital missing link in the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT).
On Monday afternoon, the BOCC voted unanimously to authorize a feasibility study to establish the route for the ODT/Eaglemount Trail, bypassing State Road 20 (SR20) from Four Corners Road to U.S. Highway 101 at the head of Discovery Bay. The authorization was performed by way of adding the study project to the county’s Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).
The Olympic Discovery Trail will ultimately be a 126-mile multipurpose nonmotorized trail running from Port Townsend to the Pacific via Discovery Bay Village, Gardiner, Blyn, Sequim, and Port Angeles. About 70 miles of the ODT have been built, and another large section on the north side of Lake Crescent is nearing completion. The six-mile Eaglemount section is the longest part of the trail that has not yet been planned, largely because of daunting topographical challenges.
Jefferson County, the City of Port Townsend, and the Port of Port Townsend have completed the Larry Scott Memorial Trail from Port Townsend to Discovery Road, and the county is about to start construction of the Discovery Bay South Trail from Old Gardiner Road to Snow Creek at the head of the Bay. But the crucial connection between those two trails has remained undeveloped, leaving hikers, cyclists, and others to transport themselves on the highway—putting themselves and motorists at risk.
In September 2015, Sergeant John Ryan, of the Washington State Patrol’s Port Angeles Detachment, wrote to Jefferson County, “My troopers regularly patrol SR20, often observing cars, logging trucks, loaded chip trucks, motorhomes, trucks with trailers, etc., trying to navigate SR20 over Eaglemount while dealing with bicyclers and hikers and oncoming traffic. I myself was assigned to Jefferson County from 1999 to 2003 and patrolled SR20 often, so I know firsthand how dangerous it is. For the safety of everyone—both motorists and nonmotorists—we encourage inclusion of a feasibility study of a recreational trail alternative in the county’s TIP.”
The Olympic Discovery Trail shares the Eaglemount section with the federal Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (PNNST), the newest addition to the National Scenic Trails network. The PNNST was established in 2009 as a result of legislation sponsored by former Rep. Norm Dicks and Sen. Maria Cantwell. Now in private practice, Dicks has been working with state and federal officials, including Reps. Derek Kilmer and Steve Tharinger, Washington State Department of Transportation, and Washington State Department of Natural Resources, to support Jefferson County in planning and ultimately building the trail.
“PNNST hikers, bicyclists, mobility-impaired persons, bike-touring groups, and motorists will all be safer, healthier, and happier with a trail bypassing SR20,” Dicks said. ”And a completed world-class ODT should be great for the economy.”
Jeff Selby, vice president of the Peninsula Trails Coalition, says the next step is to fund the study. His organization hopes to accomplish that soon, with the goal of completing the study within the next four months so that grant funding to build the first section(s) can be applied for in May 2016.
“The schedule is tight, but now that this crucial first step has been taken by Commissioners Johnson, Kler, and Sullivan, we can move ahead—after working toward this for 25 years,” Selby said. “Everyone should thank the commissioners, the county administrator, and the county’s Public Works Department for what they have done.”
