Many things -- mostly good -- have happened since my last DBET blog post, dated October 24, 2015.

On October 26, and November 2, 9, and 16, dozens of Jefferson County citizens urged the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners to include a DBET feasibility/route study on its 2016-2021 Transportation Improvement Plan.

 

On November 13^th, former U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks convened a meeting at Congressman Kilmer’s office to discuss development of the ODT-Eaglemount trail.  Participants at the meeting included State Representative Steve Tharinger (D-Sequim); Joe Dacca (Rep. Kilmer’s District Director); Judith Morris (Rep. Kilmer’s Clallam/Jefferson Field Representative); Charlotte Claybrooke (WSDOT Active Transportation Programs Manager); John Wynands (WSDOT Asst. Region Administrator for Project Development); Neal Campbell (WSDOT Local Programs Engineer); Matthew Randazzo (DNR Senior Advisor); Jed Herman (DNR Conservation, Recreation & Transactions Division); and me.

On November 16^th, Norm Dicks (and, I think, Steve Tharinger) called one or more of the Commissioners and urged them to include the ODT-Eaglemount feasibility study on the County’s TIP.  I believe they made clear to the Commissioners that they strongly supported the project and would work hard to come up with the necessary funding for it.

On November 16^th, the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to authorize a feasibility study to establish the route for the ODT Eaglemount Trail, bypassing SR-20 from Four Corners Road to US 101 at the head of Discovery Bay.  The County will select a consultant to do the study, at an estimated cost of $75,000. The BOCC  stipulated that funding for the study, plus $10,000 for County costs, (for a total of $85,000) is to come from non-County sources, and that placement on the TIP will be reassessed in 2017 if full funding for the study has not been secured.  Here's a copy of the consent agenda request to the BOCC, which was prepared by JeffCo Public Works based on the Commissioners' decision at the November 16th meeting:

Here's the final TIP line item:

I understand that since November 16^th, former Congressman Dicks and Representative Tharinger have been working to secure funding for the feasibility study.  Hopefully, that will occur within the next two months. 

On November 22^nd I dove over my handlebars onto the pavement in a UW parking lot fractured my collarbone and three ribs and tore some cartilage.  That made it very difficult to move my right arm and hand, so I couldn’t comfortably type for several weeks.  That’s my excuse for this delayed blog post.

Anticipating that funding for the feasibility study will be secured in the near future, and working with Jeff Selby, I prepared this map identifying all of the possible routes for the trail that I thought might be feasible:

(Obviously, there are many possible routes in addition to the four named in the map legend.)  I plan to provide this map to the selected feasibility-study consultant.  The job of the consultant will be to study the alternatives and identify a preferred feasible route.

On December 11^th, Jeff Selby and I met with Monte Reinders and Zoe Ann Lamp to discuss OTD-Eaglemount study project.  At the meeting, Jeff and I agreed to draft a “scope of work” for a trail consultant which would describe, among other things, route identification for the proposed trail; challenges, such as steep slopes; property owner approvals (Reinders said it was  most important to reach out to the property owners to determine whether they will permit the trail on their properties.  If we don’t have their approvals it will be almost impossible to proceed); environmental review and problems; costs; phasing; funding sources; and permitting requirements.  The County will review our draft scope of work, revise it as necessary and provide it to candidate consultants.

Again working with Jeff Selby, I drafted a “scope of work” for the consultant’s design and route study for the Eaglemount section of the Olympic Discovery Trail. Here’s my draft:

On January 2, 2016, I resumed riding outside -- with considerable trepidation.  Shortly thereafter I decided I better get going again on this blog.