Project Background, and Welcome!

This blog will be used to post information regarding the project as it evolves as well as collect comments from community members unable to attend meetings or discussions about the project.  Please sign up as a blog follower and receive updates when new material is posted!

Project Background:

In February 2009 the Municipality of Skagway (MOS) completed a Comprehensive Plan to guide community growth to the year 2020. The plan identified non-motorized trail systems as an important community asset. Two priority non-motorized transportation issues in the plan included:

1.  Ensuring the safety of visitors and employees moving between the waterfront and downtown areas

2.  Providing safe walking and biking routes through town

The MOS has begun to address these priorities. The recently constructed Seawalk (along Congress Way) and the proposed Gateway Project (along S. Broadway Ave.) were designed, in part, to increase pedestrian safety and efficiency of movement between the S. Broadway Ave. retail and historical area and the Railroad, Broadway, and Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) docks.

During development of the comprehensive plan, several parties (Municipality of Skagway, Taiya Inlet Watershed Council, and National Park Service) proposed creating a walking path, with interpretive signage, that ties together historical and natural history points between Pullen Pond and the City Museum via the Pullen Creek corridor, along the east side of the Skagway Historic District. This project is listed in the Comprehensive Plan as a specific action (6.20) under goals for pedestrian and bicycle routes. The action states: “Work to develop a contiguous walking trail with interpretative signage from Pullen Pond and Creek, through the east side of the historic district, to the City Museum.”

The Taiya Inlet Watershed Council (TIWC), in partnership with the Municipality of Skagway (MOS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), requested proposals from qualified consultants to provide Pre-design Services for the Pullen Creek StreamWalk Project in Skagway, Alaska. The pedestrian trail project is proposed to extend along the Pullen Creek corridor from South Broadway Ave. to the MOS City Hall and Museum at East 7^th Street. 

The goals of the StreamWalk Project are to:

1.   Expose pedestrians to lower Pullen Creek, including salmon, stream and riparian habitats, stream and riparian habitat restoration projects, and the local history of the area.

2.   Identify opportunities to rehabilitate stream and riparian habitats along the lower Pullen Creek corridor for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and the public.

3.   Provide an educational walking tour, including the potential for guided walks, for Skagway visitors and residents within the lower Pullen Creek corridor.

4.   Provide an alternative pedestrian route to the City Museum area for visitors originating at the cruise ship and AMHS docks.

 Corvus Design was recently selected to begin work on this project and will be leading the design and engineering of this project in association with TIWC, USFWS, and MOS.


TIWC contact - AJ Conley
USFWS representative - John Hudson, Habitat Restoration and Coastal Program Biologist

 

The Design Team:

Chris Mertl, ASLA, Project Lead Landscape Architect - Corvus Design

Laura Minski, ASLA, Project Landscape Architect - Corvus Design

Don Beard, PE, Project Civil Engineer - TetraTech Engineering

A Steering Committee has been formed to provide feedback to the design team as well as keep the community informed of the project.  If you have comments or information you would like to provide for the project you are welcome to contact them as well as the design team.

The Steering Committee:

Dave Schirokauer - National Park Service (NPS)

Paul Reichert – Assembly Member

Mike Korsmo - Assembly Member

Tom Smith -Municipal Manager

Jaime Bricker - White Pass and Yukon Route 
AJ Conley - Taiya Inlet Watershed Council (TIWC)
John Hudson - US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)