I want to set the record straight on on the North Sound to Olympic’s so-called preferred route from Kingston to Port Gamble.
The majority of the public is in opposition to plans to go through North Kitsap Heritage Park. There were three public meetings about this study. The first had a long talk by David Forte and the external consultant followed by a public comment period of two minutes per person. There was overwhelming opposition to the trail going through NKHP and instead called for paths to connect various communities.
In the two remaining public meetings, they took out of the agenda an element of question and answer or public comment with both Forte and then Commissioner Rob Gelder saying it was too contentious.
The public was left with submitting comments online that were fielded by Forte. Only by doing a public records request were we initially able to glean the public’s opinion. Something like 40 out of 43 of the initial submissions were opposed to a paved path through the NKHP in early comments submitted. The final total still had two-thirds of the public in opposition.
Another issue is with the cost. Page 80 of the final Trail Planning Study showed columns for nine phases of the project but failed to show the total of the roughly eight-mile path. The total is more like $89.4 million — not the $13 million to $15.5 million claimed. Meanwhile, the county is lacking in non-motorized routes throughout Kitsap County to connect communities.
Another problem is the String of Pearls was not really a grassroots effort. One only needs to look at early text in the String of Pearls report to find the following:
“In 2007, the Olympic Property Group, proposed a trail system as one of several key elements in a plan for 8,000 acres in the Port Gamble area. A trail system was viewed as a viable and progressive way of adding value to OPG’s existing real estate holdings in preparation for the land’s future use.”
It would link OPG’s real estate holdings with their Arborwood holdings. Arborwood was later sold to two large firms, Pulte and Taylor Morrison and yet there has been a concerted effort by Jon Rose (formerly with OPG, which is now Raydient) to push for connectivity.
Another issue: The proposed path would route over the environmentally sensitive beaver pond before going up and over Beaver Ridge. The protection of beaver habitat is an important focus of local tribes like the Suquamish and Port Gamble S’Klallam. The current gravel path goes over a culvert and is inadequate for widening and paving.
The route also would travel through sensitive natural areas that would damage prime wildlife habitat. While the proposed segment traveling east to west in the northern part of NKHP is relatively level, it would travel in wildlife habitat. That would ignore necessary buffers to protect wetlands. There is evidence of bears living in this northern zone, undisturbed by those using trails further uphill.
From the outset of public meetings, a paved path through NKHP has been talked of as being accessible to all. But many early path segments were not wheelchair-accessible. The park goes from 70 feet in elevation to over 300 feet.
Unlike the Port Gamble Heritage Park, which had provisions to allow one more timber harvest in all areas, the NKHP is in recovery from being used for timber production. There have been efforts to thin parts of the park for overall tree health and plans to increase the diversity of trees and plants in this park. We should not be going in and clear-cutting 14- to 30-foot-wide paths through this treasure.
Spending $89.4 million on an eight-mile paved path through, and in the process destroying a wooded, hilly park with fragile ecosystems to serve a handful of recreational cyclists, makes no sense at all.
Doug Hayman of Indianola has worked in the service of people with disabilities as an assistive technology specialist and electronic content specialist for over 25 years.
