Long-sought trail connection in the works for north Bellingham neighborhoods
Bellingham is building a trail connection on the city’s north side, adding long-sought access to trails and shopping for residents in two northside neighborhoods.
City Council members unanimously approved a contract this month to build a trail through undeveloped space linking the east end of Telegraph Road in the King Mountain neighborhood to the west end of Division Street in the Irongate neighborhood, using Jills Court to connect to Hammer Drive and Division Street.
Funds from the Greenways levy for parks and trails will cover the $873,428 cost.
“This is a project that we have been looking forward to for a long time,” Nicole Oliver, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said in a meeting. “It is going to create a trail connection north-south for people in King Mountain and along Bakerview that will connect to the now-overlaid Telegraph Road and will bypass that southern portion of James Street between Orchard, Sunset Pond and Telegraph that has no shoulders whatsoever, so this will be a really enormous improvement to access from the north.”
The trail will be approximately 1,500 feet long with a crushed limestone surface and will have several retaining walls.
