Portage Cove Interpretive Trail & Park Conceptual Design

Thursday, March 9, 2017

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)

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

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)

Monday, March 6, 2017

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.

Welcome to the Project!

This is our way of keeping in touch with you and providing another avenue for you to be a part of the process for the Portage Cove Interpretive Trail and Park Conceptual Design.

The purpose of this project is the create a waterfront pedestrian route that links the State Park Portage Cove Campground to the new harbor uplands and continues to Picture Point on the Haines Highway. This 1.5 mile trail is to be an interpretive trail that celebrates Haines' rich history, heritage and culture. The trail is to be located on Borough lands and within existing right-of-ways and is not to be located on private land. If however landowners wish to develop partnerships and allow the trail to be located on private land, this can be negotiated with the Borough but the intent is that the trail is located on public lands. Also part of the project is the development of a new waterfront public park along the trail. The intent of the trail and park is to provide recreation and public access along Haines' waterfront while telling the stories of the community. Visitors to Haines will also be users of trail and park which will provide an opportunity for them to learn about the community while linking the cruise ship terminal and public campground to the harbor and downtown.

The project is being developed as a conceptual master plan that will show the basic layout of the trail and park and be supported by conceptual construction estimates, a phased implementation strategy, and identification of possible funding sources. The plan is to be developed within an inclusive public process. The plan will be a tool for pursuing funding and future detailed design of the trail and park. Corvus Design is leading the planning and engineering team that also includes PND Engineers.

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