‘Long-sought-after’ trail will link Bellingham neighborhoods
Bellingham is taking steps toward building a trail around Sunset Pond that also will connect the King Mountain and Irongate neighborhoods with the Barkley Village area, a project that Parks and Recreation Department officials are calling a priority.
The cost of the trail was estimated at $2 million, and the city is seeking a grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office.
An extended Squalicum Creek Trail also will finish another part of the Bay to Baker Trail, which is being built in segments.
But more importantly, the new trail will provide a safer walking and biking route to Barkley and beyond for thousands of residents in lower King Mountain neighborhood and the high-density apartment buildings near Sunset Village, said Nicole Oliver, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.
“This is a long-sought-after connector, a north-south connector,” Oliver told the City Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee on Monday, March 28.
“This is going to be a really important connector for the many people in the densely populated area off of Sunset, as well as linking people to the Bay to Baker Trail that goes under the freeway. And so it will be a really important commuter route, and it will also serve neighborhoods to the north,” Oliver said.
City Council members unanimously approved the $2 million grant application Monday night.
If grant funding is rejected, Oliver said the trail will be built in phases and the cost spread over several budget cycles.
Currently, it’s planned for 2023-2024.
When it’s built over the next several years, the trail will connect with an existing path on the north side of Sunset Pond from James Street, and loop around the south side of the pond to complete the route.
A spur off that trail on the east side of the pond will head toward a right-of-way on Racine Street to a lighted crossing on busy Sunset Drive, and then continue south toward Barkley Boulevard, where a trail leads to the movie theater complex.
Parts of the trail around Sunset Pond will be a boardwalk through wetlands, and a bridge will be built over Squalicum Creek, which feeds Sunset Pond and then continues west to Bellingham Bay.
On the north side of Sunset Pond, the trail follows an abandoned railroad line and will eventually continue east to Hannegan Road, Oliver said.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
