Recently, a letter written by Ingrid Miller appeared on the opinion page (Sept. 14). It concerned the construction of an extension of the Fish Creek Trail from West Northern Lights Boulevard to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. The proposed routes for this extension would take the trail through Fish Creek’s estuary. Ms. Miller correctly pointed out the likely degradation of the natural state of the estuary if these plans are carried out.
A few years ago, my wife and I moved into the area of Fish Creek where it passes through Spenard. We watched as the trail went through a substantial upgrade and we now hike and bike on it frequently. I have often taken the trail to its northern end, where it merges into Barbara Street. At this point, it’s easy to continue north on Barbara Street to the pedestrian overpass over West Northern Lights Boulevard. From there, one can proceed north along residential streets in the Turnagain neighborhood to Lynn Ary Park and onto the Coastal Trail. Barbara Street and the streets in Turnagain are easily traveled and with some signage are very sufficient for getting those making use of the trail to and from the existing Fish Creek Trail and the Coastal Trail.
Going south on the Fish Creek Trail, one ends up in Northwood Park. It has significantly deteriorated platforms for viewing the wetlands, and almost unreadable information signs. I assume funds for park maintenance and those for trail construction come from different pots, but it sure would be nice if the municipality placed more emphasis on quality and eased off on quantity a bit. Putting the funds for the trail extension into signage to guide trail users between the current Fish Creek Trail and the Coastal Trail would leave funds to fix up the wetlands portion of Northwood Park and leave the estuary alone.
— Mark Lovegreen
Anchorage
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