White Salmon moving forward with bluff trail

WHITE SALMON — After nearly a year with little communication about the project, White Salmon’s Bluff Connector Trail is on its way to becoming physical reality, Mayor Marla Keethler explained at an open house with consultants and city staff on Oct. 23.

The bluff trail is a steep-grade, pedestrian corridor intended to link Jewett Boulevard with State Route 141 through a series of platforms, stairs and walkways. Last fall, the city held two meetings with key stakeholders and an initial open house, followed by a visual preference survey for the project ending on Jan. 9. Consultants Harper Houf Peterson Righellis (HHPR), with technical expertise from Columbia West Engineering, then completed a feasibility study, unveiled on Thursday, that assessed different routes and their associated costs.

“I definitely empathize with people who are coming in panicked and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, the city totally turned the tables on us and now they’re building this,” said Keethler. “We are trying to be more true and correct some misstatements that, unfortunately, were right out of the gate from city hall.”

Floated for the better part of a decade, the city spoke of the bluff trail as something it might pursue when outreach began, which was incorrect. Rather, the city is committed to completing the project and has some funding to do it, Keethler clarified, but work will take place in phases, and public input will shape each step.

“This whole thing is going to change many times before it comes to life,” she said. “There’s still plenty more engagement that has to happen.”

HHPR’s study laid out four potential routes for the project that range in cost from $6-7.8 million. The bluff trail design itself is fairly stagnant: Starting off Edgecliff Drive, this part will have a viewing platform near the top and descend some 340 total feet. The lower portion will either feature a pedestrian bridge over Dock Grade Road, or a marked crossing with switchbacks down to SR 14.

As required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, however, the city must explore alternate routes to accommodate people who aren’t able-bodied, chiefly by avoiding stairs. This could mean putting pedestrian infrastructure only on Dock Grade Road, building a longer looped system on Jewett and SR 14 or using other streets.

While a condition for the planning phase, Keethler emphasized that the city isn’t tied to HHPR’s suggested routes and will likely just construct the bluff trail itself, especially since separate upgrades to Jewett are coming down the pike. Aiming to enhance pedestrian access and connectivity between Bingen and White Salmon, the bluff trail also ties into a larger project.

“There is a strong incentive as the bridge is moving forward,” Keethler said. With Hood River-White Salmon Bridge, which will accommodate pedestrian traffic, crossing into Washington right where the bluff trail is set to begin, the city wants to get well-positioned so both projects blend seamlessly, she said.

Wildfire mitigation is another added benefit. The trail will give firefighters much-needed access to the bluff, and the project has West Klickitat Fire Authority Chief Wes Long’s stamp of approval. Water connections will run up the stairs, built out of fire-resistant materials, and there will be a 20-foot, non-combustible buffer on either side.

Since HHPR’s study is now completed, the city’s in a stronger position to go after grant funding, in addition to the $1 million already on hand. Keethler’s focused on breaking ground with that million, as opposed to further engineering or contracted work.

“We know we’ve identified concepts around where the terminus at the top can be. Can we engage with those property owners and move forward? What does it look like to get an easement?” said Keethler. “That’s what phase two will look like.”