Peace Portal trail project receives new round of state funding

By Stefanie Donahue

A project to forge a new pedestrian path through Blaine is one step closer to completion.

The state Transportation Improvement Board – which provides street construction and maintenance grants to more than 300 cities and counties in the state – notified the city in November that it would grant $293,425 toward the project, titled ‘Peace Portal Community Trail Phase 2,’ said public works director Ravyn Whitewolf in an email.

Once completed, the project “will create a viable and scenic pedestrian connection from the new pedestrian crossing at the Peace Arch US/Canadian border crossing through the city to the southern Blaine city limits,” according to the city’s grant application, submitted in August 2017.

In a letter written to the board, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) assistant regional manager Jay Drye wrote, “The proposed improvements will enhance local connectivity for non-motorized transportation in this area and support the regional priority of enhancing Coast Millennium Trail connections through Whatcom County.”

He said, “WSDOT plans to invest in the replacement of the Dakota Creek Bridge, just south of the project on SR 548, which will tie into the non-motorized system. The improvement will enhance the connectivity of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in this area.”

Yet to be completed, the Coast Millennium Trail is a multi-use trail system that will stretch from Seattle to Vancouver.

Phase one of the Peace Portal Community Trail project received $280,820 in state, federal and local funding to design and construct an asphalt trail from Cherry Street to Bayview Avenue, Whitewolf said.

In the second phase, the city will extend the trail from Bayview to Hughes Avenue.

Whitewolf said the city has agreed to contribute an additional $32,603 to phase two of the project, which is eligible for funding from the city’s Transportation Benefit District (TBD).

The special taxing district was created by the Blaine city council and is used to fund transportation projects for streets, sidewalks and trails. In April, the Blaine voters approved a 0.2 increase in the sales tax to fund the district; the increase to the sales tax went into effect this month.

“I would say it is very likely TBD would be used as it incorporates both trail and street improvements,” Whitewolf said.

Moving forward, the city will hire a design consultant to complete the design in 2018 and start building in 2019. In addition to WSDOT, Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 has also been a large supporter of the project, she said.