The waterfront trail could stretch from Picture Point to the Portage Cove Campground. (Haines Borough RFP)
The Chilkoot Indian Association is partnering with the Haines Borough to complete a series of trails that will run the entire length of Portage Cove.
The new trails will connect Picture Point on the Haines Highway to the cruise ship dock and Portage cove campground, allowing visitors to easily walk from the dock to other areas of town.
Public Facilities Director Brad Ryan originally approached Chilkoot Indian Association, also known as CIA, to help build a trail to connect Tlingit Park to the harbor. Ryan said that the tribe offered to construct additional sections of the Portage Cove Trail as well.
“And they said, ‘What we really want to do is build the trails if you can come up with specifications.’ And so, they were like, ‘If you can get the specifications we can build the trail without additional funding from the borough.’ They get their federal highway funds to build the trail,” Ryan said.
CIA agreed to build gravel sections of the trail at Picture Point; from the harbor to Port Chilkoot Cruise Ship Dock; and from the dock to Portage Cove Campground.
“We’re not ignorant to the fact that there is private land in there and sometimes it’s going to have to come up to the road. But yeah, the hope is that in the long run if it’s planned out and stepped in carefully it will be a continuous trail. Some of it may have to be a sidewalk or a widened shoulder on the main road itself eventually,” Ryan said.
At a meeting last week, the Borough Assembly approved a $57,000 contract with proHNS LLC to complete a design for the trail improvements and ADA upgrades. The design will be paid for with funds from the Commercial Passenger Vessel Tax.
Ryan said once the design is complete, CIA will be able to begin construction.
“The timeframe isn’t clear yet because we don’t have the specifications yet, and so they don’t know what that looks like. It sounds like they’re fully ready to go on that, and so we want to get this design contract signed and get moving and then we’ll move forward,” Ryan said.
To learn more about the Portage Cove Trail visit portagecove.blogspot.com.
Lots of money going to a trail that won’t cross all the private land along the tide line and will be on Front Street seems like a waste. If they are aware of the privat land issue why did they draw the yellow trail line across the private land on their map? It would be interesting to know how much has been spent on this idea so far? Shouldn’t they have asked landowners before deciding to build a trail when it lacks a legal ROW?