Draft Final Report

Below is the link to the draft final document that will be presented on Wednesday, May 17.

Draft Final Report

(Click link above to download pdf of the document)

Final Meeting

Final Meeting: May 17th

The final meeting for the project will be hosted at the Chilkat Center lobby on Wednesday, May 17th at 6:30 pm.

Corvus Design will give the final presentation to Port and Harbor Advisory Committee, Planning Commission, and Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee working group. Groups will be able to discuss the project and ask any questions they have. Groups will then be able to provide any recommendations at their next regularly scheduled meeting.

Haines School Design Workshops

While in Haines this week we had the special opportunity to work with two classes at the Haines School and get the students input on what they would like included as part of the trail and park design. We hosted two design workshops with a third grade and a sixth grade class. Lots of creative ideas including a hummingbird garden, fire pits, viewing scopes, salmon printed paving, fishing piers, talking totem poles, ice cream stands, performance space, and of course.....ziplines and trampolines. Thanks to Holly at the Borough and Ms. Brown and Ms. White at the Haines School for letting us work with your great students.

Public Meeting 3 and 4 Summaries

On Monday, March 13, the third public meeting was hosted at the Chilkat Center for the Arts. Approximately 20 people attended the meeting. The meeting was led by Christopher Mertl and supported by Dick Somerville with PND Engineers. The focus of the meeting was to review the revised trail layout plans that had been updated as part of public meeting #2 and to selected a preferred park fill and layout plan based on the four park options presented.

A key component of the discussion was understanding construction costs, permitting and the design of facilities that could withstand storm events. Public sentiment was to develop a trail system and park that was cost effective. Attendees once again were asked to mark up the trail plans based on this new information. Additionally, a preferred park fill option was selected and the preference was to keep the park within the permitted fill associated with the harbor uplands project. There was also the direction to provide recreation nodes along the trail between the harbor and cruise ship dock that could include picnic tables, fire rings, benches and simple shelters. The trail was to be located at the 25' tide line with an understanding that the trail and recreation facilities might be impacted during a significant tidal surge. The preference was that the trail is accessible but a natural meandering trail that follows the 25' tide line and preserves much of the natural vegetation along the beach between the harbor and cruise ship dock.

The public also provided input on what they wanted within the park. The desired facilities included a large shelter with possible stage, memorial, picnic facilities and landscaping to the buffer the park from the adjacent parking lot. An ADA ramp from the park to the beachfront trail was also desired.

The preferred interpretive sign layout selected by the public was the Chilkat Blanket style sign.

Based on the input provided at meeting #3 and the two day open studio session the trail and park plans were updated to reflect the input and can be found below.

Preferred Trail Layout and Park Plan

(Click link above to download pdf)

The fourth public meeting was hosted on Wednesday, March 15 and approximately 25 people attended. Brad Ryan, Interim Borough Manager kicked off the meeting discussing implementation of the plan and funding sources. Funding identified was largely from outside sources. There was general consensus that this was preferred and that segments would be designed and constructed as funding became available. Dick Somerville presented the costs for the various segments of the trail and for the park. These are currently being updated based on public comment and will be uploaded to this site shortly. Overall, the public supported the preferred trail alignment, facilities and the park plan found in the link above.

Next steps is to update the interpretive plan with the new information and to present the draft final plan to the Assembly in late April.

Draft Park Fill and Layout Options

There was clear consensus that the public wanted to have the existing Lookout Park removed from its current location and a new park located at the southeast corner of the fill for the new harbors parking uplands. Four concepts have been developed that looks at a variety of fill options, trail alignments, and possible park features. Any fill located at or below the 21' tide line will require permitting. The options below will be presented and discussed at the public meeting on Monday, March 13. 

See previous postings for more details on the next round of public meetings.

Park Fill and Layout Options

(Click link above for PDF of four plans)

Draft Conceptual Portage Cove Trail and Park Plan

Below is a link to the draft conceptual Portage Cove Trail and Park Plan. This documents all work completed to date and will continue to be updated as new information and designs are developed or materials refined during this project. The plan contains the following:

• Inventory of existing interpretation in the community
• Project branding, color schemes and creating a unifying aesthetic for the trail, park and interpretation that is true and unique to Haines
• Themes and stories of Haines to be included
• Proposed interpretive plan, locations along the trail and proposed messages/themes/stories
• Examples of proposed interpretive sign layout and design (please don't get upset by the purse seiner images.....we know they are not used in Haines☺)
• Proposed preferred trail layout and trail types
• Trail type sections

A reminder we will be in Haines March 13 and 15th for the second round of public meetings. Please see posting below and we hope to see you.

Draft Conceptual Portage Cove Park and Trail Plan

(Click Link Above to View PDF)

Public Meetings 3 and 4: March 13 and 15

The second round of public meetings will be hosted at the Chilkat Center lobby on Monday, March 13th and Wednesday, March 15th. Both meetings will begin at 6:30 pm. The meetings will be led by Christopher Mertl of Corvus Design and supported by Dick Somerville with PND Engineers.

The first meeting will focus on summarizing work completed and public input to date, present the Portage Cove Trail and Park Interpretive Plan, review the preferred trail alignment, look a three possible park layouts and begin discussions on costs.

The second meeting will focus on the park planning and design, refinement of the trail alignments and more detailed costs. This will help determine priorities and the development of an implementation plan.

We will once again be hosting our open studio sessions at the Haines Library Conference room on Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. This is another opportunity to provide input and get involved in the design of the Portage Cove Trail and Park.

Public Meeting #2

On the evening of January 25th the second public meeting was hosted at the Chilkat Center. Approximately 30 people attended. The meeting was again started by Interim Borough Manager Brad Ryan who welcomed attendees and provided project background. Members of the Corvus Design team (Chris Mertl and Erik Jones) gave a brief introduction on interpretation and summarized what we heard from the public during the open studio session. There was positive public conversation and consensus about the need to strengthen the cultural stories related to Haines' waterfront with an emphasis on the Chilkat Tlingit people. Stories included the original name of Haines being Dei shu, meaning "end of the trail"and the grease trail, Raven house, the relationships between the Chilkat people and the Presbyterian Church and US Army, and many others. Corvus Design introduced the idea of using the Chilkat blanket's color palette and local formline as possible elements to visually unify the trail and park facilities and this was met with approval by those in attendance (coordination and approval will be needed to ensure cultural sensitivity before progressing any further using this concept). Public input was received on themes for the new waterfront park and those discussed included "working waterfront", "fisherman's memorial" and "Chilkat culture" and most agreed incorporating all elements would be preferred. 

Discussion moved onto the trail alignment and the five layouts that were developed by the public at the January 23rd public meeting were summarized. Based on the five trail layouts, Corvus Design presented a consensus trail map that showed the common layout and trail types developed from the five public layouts. (See below). Based on the trail consensus map, typical trail sections were presented for each of the trail types identified by the public. Corvus Design, then presented a recommended trail plan that was largely based on the the consensus trail map and provided additional detail. (See below). Attendees discussed the recommended trail plan and were asked to provide additional comments. Overall, those in attendance approved the recommended trail plan with minor edits. The public was then invited to prioritize trail segments that has the highest community need and should be installed in the short term future. The highest priority segments are 1) Cruise ship dock through the harbor to Main Street, 2) Breakwater trail, 3) Beach trail from cruise ship dock to Portage Cove campground trail, and 4) Beach trail from Front Street and the Haines Highway to Picture Point wayside

We welcome additional input and comments on the work developed to date. These findings are preliminary in nature and will be further refined based on additional comments and input received at future public meetings and open studio sessions. Comments can be left with the Haines Borough or Corvus Design with links to comment to be found on the right.

Public meeting #3 and 4 are tentatively scheduled for mid-March. Please watch this website for meeting updates and the posting of new project related information.

Presentation

(Click Link Above to View PDF)

Existing Conditions & Community Consensus Maps

(Click Link Above to View PDF)

Corvus Design Recommended Layout

(Click Link Above to View PDF)

Presentation

Community Discussions And Map Viewing

Community Trail Priority Voting

Recommended Trail Priority Results

Open Studio Session

On January 24th and 25th, the Corvus Design team hosted two all day open studio sessions at the Borough Library. The open studio sessions were an opportunity for residents to stop by and view the materials generated during the first public meeting, provide input on interpretation along the corridor, and add information to the inventory mapping that detailed opportunities along the route. Over 80 people stopped by to provide input over the two days. Participants also provided additional input on the trail and park layout and assisted the planning team in developing the plans that were to be presented at the second public meeting on the evening of January 25th. We would like to thank all those that took the time to attend the open studio session and for providing your valuable input.

Interpretive Opportunities

Community Comments, Concerns, Suggestions, etc.

Public Meeting #1

On January 23rd, the Haines Borough and Corvus Design hosted the first public meeting which was held at the Chilkat Center. Over 35 members of the public attended. The meeting was kicked off by Interim Borough Manager Brad Ryan who welcomed attendees and provided project background. The meeting was turned over to members of the Corvus Design team (Chris Mertl and Erik Jones) who asked attendees to introduce themselves and to state one interesting or unique fact about Haines. The Corvus Design team provided a brief presentation about interpretive planning and the different types of interpretation that could be included in the project (see link below). The public was asked recall or to create a series of newspaper headlines about Haines either current or historic. These were discussed to understand the great stories about the community and how they might be applied to the Portage Cove Trail and Park and help celebrate Haines' culture, heritage and history. 

The attendees were then broken into table groups and were asked to identify the destinations, nodes and attractions along the corridor and within surrounding neighborhoods on large maps. They were then provided trail segments and asked to link the destinations with various trail types to create a trail that linked Portage Cove Campground to the harbor and out to Picture Point Wayside. Each team was also asked to locate a new park along the route. Once each table completed their trail layouts they were asked to present their layouts to the larger group. Below you will find images of the entire process as well as each group's final map.

What is Interpretation?

(Click Link Above to View PDF)

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5