Anchorage

Public meeting Thursday for Chester Creek Trail improvements

The Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department will hold a public forum Thursday evening to detail plans for improvements along the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail next summer. The meeting will be held at the Spenard Community Recreation Center from 6 to 8 p.m.

The 4-mile-long Chester Creek Trail runs parallel to Chester Creek from Westchester Lagoon to Goose Lake Park. But years of use and weather have left portions of the trail's pavement cracked, and drainage issue have surfaced in recent years. The improvement work, a $3.175 million project, will begin in late spring with construction set to end in the fall. Because the trail is heavily used by joggers, walkers and bicyclists, much of the trail's four miles will see detours in 2015.

"This is going to be very intense for next summer," said Maeve Nevins, a municipal park planner. "It's complicated -- we have to route people through the neighborhoods and accommodate accessibility laws and make sure they are routes that everyone can use."

Nevins said the Chester Creek Trail work was paid for by a combination of state grants and municipal bonds. Nevins said the work was among the most-requested projects during a series of public surveys and public comment sessions conducted in 2013.

Work on the trail began in 2014, covering an area between milepost 0 and 1, along with several spur trails coming off of the main trail. The trail was reopened several times in order to accommodate large events like the Big Wild Life Runs that utilize the thoroughfare.

Sean Doogan

Sean Doogan is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News.

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