Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- City officials have said they want to turn the railroad corridor that splits Palmer into a green space that includes meandering trails, trees, outdoor concert spots and interpretive signs that discuss the city's history and setting.

Palmer city officials want to get permission from the Alaska Railroad to tear out the '60s-era tracks between a spur line that runs to the Palmer Municipal Airport and the end of the rails at Eagle Avenue. But first they need permission from the Palmer City Council.

The City Council had not yet signed off on the plan to pull the tracks. It was scheduled to take the issue up again at a special meeting Tuesday. Find the decision online at www.adn.com/matsuview.

The City Council postponed making a decision on the issue last week after hearing from a dozen community members, some of whom wanted to keep the tracks and others who said the city could make better use of the land without them.

Most people who spoke said they needed more information about what the city's plans are for the property before deciding if it made sense to shuck such an important part of Palmer's history.

"If the goal is to have a nice ... trail from the spur to the overlook, let's agree on that first and on the shape of that first," said Alex Kopperud, who lives in his family's home next to the railroad right of way.

Palmer Community Development Director Sandra Garley said the city doesn't have a formal plan showing how it would use the rail corridor yet. She said the city wants to get permission from the state-owned Alaska Railroad to use the land before spending money on such a plan.

"I do think you could spend lots and lots of community hours planning this and then hit the brick wall of having the railroad say we're not interested," Garley said.

Palmer City Manager Bill Allen said railroad officials are interested in the idea of removing the tracks and letting the city maintain the former rail corridor. But the greenbelt could disappear if a company wants to use the rails that run through the city again.

"Permanency is not guaranteed," Allen said.

If they can get management rights to the railroad property, the city has a lot of ideas for the strip. Planning studies completed in Palmer recently offer several suggestions, Garley said.

The city could expand the pavilion area being used for the summer-long Friday Fling markets and make a defined stage and listening area for musicians and performers. On the railroad land between the depot and the new city skate park, where the rails are obscured by long grass in the summer, the city could install Frisbee parks and other sporting areas, and nooks for picnics and barbecues. Garley recommended meandering trails throughout, with benches to take advantage of striking views.

"The larger aerial view is, Palmer is just a darn pretty city," Garley said.

She said the city might be able to bridge the gap between its history and the future by leaving the rails intact in some places, such as in front of the railroad depot, and leaving other rail-related equipment in place and installing tables and interpretive signs nearby.

Allen said the city would solicit comments from city historical groups.

He estimated the cost of removing the rails and improving the corridor at about $4.5 million. The city doesn't have any of that money in hand. Allen said he hopes to tap federal economic stimulus funding to pay for the project.

The City Council on Tuesday was scheduled to consider spending up to $150,000 to hire Washington, D.C., law firm Nixon Peabody to lobby for stimulus funding for the greenbelt and two others, a new clubhouse at the city golf course and a conference center the city wants to build.

Find Daily News reporter Rindi White online at adn.com/contact/rwhite or call her at 352-6709.

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