Thanks to the stellar work of Arcata Deputy Director of Environmental Services Karen Diemer, Arcata just won $1.065 million to do all the planning, engineering and environmental documentation for a trail from the Arcata Skate Park to Bracut!

From John Driscoll at the Times Standard:

The city of Arcata will receive $1.07 million to prepare engineering designs and environmental documents for running a trail along a 3.8-mile stretch of rail corridor. While the project itself could be a stand-alone effort, the aim is to provide something of a model on how a “rail-with-trail” project could be put together between Eureka and Arcata and other reaches of the North Coast Railroad.

”What this project will mean regionally is hopefully it will be a cornerstone as to how we can successfully route trails along rail corridors safely,” said Karen Diemer, deputy director of Arcata's Environmental Services Department.

Diemer said local and state agencies, nonprofit groups and other trail advocates have been working for years on trail concepts.

Diemer said she thinks the group realized it was important to develop a project with a strong likelihood of success, and that the Arcata effort fits that bill.

The segment under consideration runs from the north end of H Street, follows the rail line down K Street, through the Arcata Marsh, down South G Street to just south of Bayside Cutoff at Bracut Marsh"

Redwood Community Action Agency won another chunk of change to do Coastal Trail Planning to fill in missing gaps for Humboldt County:

"The conservancy also provided $900,000 to the Redwood Community Action Agency to complete the first part of an investigation into what it will take to complete the California Coastal Trail through Humboldt County.

The agency will look into the existing parts of the trail, consider projects that would fill gaps, prepare plans to acquire areas to fill the gaps and develop construction designs and environmental documents for the most important projects."

This is great news and shows that trail proponents have the determination to make these things happen.  If the $50 million HP3 project comes through, our community will be ready to roll out a lot of projects!

(Photos from Daniel Solomon at the Eureka Reporter:  Karen Diemer presents the project to the State Coastal Conservancy, Green Wheels HSU President Tommy Viducich rides an undeveloped path on a section of railroad right-of-way within the proposed project area.)