Waitsburg-to-Dayton Multi-use Path discussed at Cup of Joe

DAYTON—About forty people gathered in the Delany Room last week to help kick off the first in a series of discussions regarding the planned 9.7-mile Waitsburg-to-Dayton Multi-use Path.

Alexandra Stone, a landscape architect with the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program was the guest speaker at the Dayton Chamber-sponsored Cup of Joe.

Stone said the main thrust of the meeting was to gather concerns and interests to let a steering committee begin more focused work, in a sustained way.

“Think about a dream or vision today,” Stone said. “This is the raw material for getting this work going.”

Trails that are dog and horse friendly, that are ADA accessible, and have midway access, along with signage for history and agriculture were a few of the ideas people at the meeting shared.

Stone said most groups spend up to a year developing a baseline inventory.

Stories from other communities addressing concerns from landowners about trespassing, litter, and issues affecting farmers, could be part of the next community conversation, Stone said.

The National Park Service is providing technical expertise and support, to the Blue Mountain Regional Trail System Plan, which will include 350 miles of new or improved non-motorized trails connecting Columbia, Walla Walla and Umatilla Counties.

The Port of Columbia is the project partner for the Waitsburg-to-Dayton Multi-use Path.

“The reason the Port is involved is we own the railway and that is a good place to build the land. This trail as designed will be a rail-with-trail,” said Kathryn Witherington, the Port’s Economic Development Coordinator. “The trail will run adjacent to it.”

Port Executive Director Jennie Dickinson said the Port has an application in to the state Department of Transportation for design funding.

“We are rated very high on the DOT list, and we expect to be funded at the end of the legislative session,” Dickinson said. “The idea is to work with the Park Service between now and getting the money for actually drawing plans on paper, to talk about the trail and find out what people would like it to look like. To find out where we would like stops, and all that kind of thing. Then we can move into more detailed design, which can lead to us seeking funding for construction.

“We wouldn’t expect to start engineering design until fall,” she said.

The development of the Plan for a Ridges, Towns, and Rivers trail system was inspired by the Community Council of Walla Walla’s 2015 study on enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities.

Stakeholders were: the cities of College Place, Dayton, Milton-Freewater, Waitsburg and Walla Walla, and Columbia, Umatilla and Walla Walla counties, along with the county health departments, the Ports of Walla Walla and Columbia, the Walla Walla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Community Council of Walla Walla.

The Waitsburg-to-Dayton Multi-use Path was identified for earliest implementation when the completed Blue Mountain Regional Trails—Ridges, Towns and Rivers Plan was unveiled in Jan. 2018.