Gov. Jay Inslee pedaled the Sound to Olympics Trail on Bainbridge Island, as Leafline Trails Coalition today launched a visionary network with more than 900 miles of trails to safely and efficiently connect communities throughout the central Puget Sound region.
“Nobody’s ever caught frowning on a trail,” Inslee said as he live-streamed his ride up the STO from Winslow Way to High School Road, via a handlebar-mounted camera. “Everybody’s happy, ever notice that? People on trails are always smiling.”
Inslee live-streamed brief comments from the STO trailhead, hailing the regional trails plan as the most exciting mapping project since Peter Puget surveyed Puget Sound in 1792.
There are about 500 miles of trails today in King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, Leafline says, but there has never before been a concerted effort to create a network that crosses jurisdictional boundaries and Puget Sound.
Currently, 56 percent of the more than 900-mile trail network is complete. The remaining 44 percent includes regional spines for active transportation and outdoor recreation, new links between existing trails, and closes gaps between trails to improve network connectivity.
More than 60 partners and members including the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation have pledged support for the vision of Leafline Trails Coalition, to realize an integrated mobility network that allows people to bike, walk, roll, and connect to transit by trail.
The vision includes the Sound to Olympics Trail on Bainbridge Island, and across the Kitsap Peninsula to the Hood Canal Bridge.
The Parks & Trails Foundation is supporting the City of Bainbridge Island’s effort to plan the STO Trail from Winslow to the Agate Pass Bridge. The STO also falls along the Great American Rail-Trail, a national trail project.
Recent investments for active transportation from the federal and state governments are at historic highs and will be a key focus of Coalition work with its partners. Many of the signature projects in the Leafline Trails Network are ready now for federal, state, and local infrastructure investments that will stimulate economic growth throughout the region.
Leveraging this analysis of the Leafline Trails Network, the coalition will focus on gap-filling and investment strategy with support from the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Program, and pursue wayfinding and signage to improve user experience of the networks.
Other speakers at the Wednesday morning launch included Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson, Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier, Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Tacoma Councilmember Kristina Walker, REI Co-Op’s Marc Berejka, King County Department of Natural Resources Director Christie True, among others.
Find out more about the Leafline Trails Coalition here.
