The Hermiston City Council approved a resolution Monday night to accept a grant that will fund a Belt Park Greenway Trail.
The project will result in an urban off-road multimodal asphalt trail that will meander adjacent to the creek that flows year-round from West Park Elementary School on the east starting point. The trail section will end at Buttercreek Apartments where it connects to an existing pedestrian walkway and other trail sections.
The project is estimated to cost $297,000. The city has been awarded up to $266,498 for the project by the Oregon Community Paths program through the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). The city will be responsible for the remainder – up to $30,502.
Hermiston Parks & Recreation Director Brandon Artz, in a report to the council, said the trail will provide a critical transportation link between a disadvantaged community and essential employment, health, government and school services.
Adjacent to the project are dense multi-residential housing including Regency Retirement Home, Desert Sage Apartments, Buttercreek Apartments, and a variety of low-income housing. Demographically, this community is home to disadvantaged and mobility-challenged residents who will benefit from the trail, said Artz.
The proposed trail will be 2,822 linear feet in length, eight feet wide and paved with asphalt to accommodate walking, jogging, and non-motorized trail uses.
Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann said with the trail paved with asphalt, “it will be much better for the residents on the other end of the trail.”
For the project, the city secured two recreation easements from Sunshine Apartments and Avamere Retirement. Artz said both landowners support this trail project.
