HomeMy WebLinkAboutPuget Sound to Pacific FY23 RAISE ApplicationCat?
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February 13, 2023
Board of County Commissioners
1820 Jefferson Street
PO Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Kate Dean, District 1 Heidi Eisenhour, District 2 Greg Brotherton, District 3
Secretary Pete Buttigieg
US Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington DC, 20590
Re: Jefferson County's Support for the Puget Sound to Pacific FY23 RAISE Application
Dear Secretary Buttigieg,
On behalf of Jefferson County, a co -applicant, please accept this letter of support for the Puget Sound to
Pacific FY23 RAISE application, to plan the Great American Rail -Trail from Bainbridge Island across the
Olympic Peninsula to La Push.
As a Co -Applicant Jefferson County embraces the benefits active transportation infrastructure provides to
our communities. Trails transform communities by providing equitable access, enhancing safety, quality of
life, sustainability, and by bolstering local economies. We value the health benefits derived from active
transportation.
Jefferson County has joined this application because the PS2P projects will create an innovative active
transportation and recreation corridor, providing a safe, non -motorized shared use path through this
beautiful and productive rural landscape. This multi -use trail project will be an asset not just to the three
counties, numerous small towns and several Indian Reservations directly impacted, but also to the wider
state of Washington.
A key component of the PS2P, the Olympic Discovery Trail, is planned to run 130 miles from Port
Townsend, our county seat, to the Pacific Ocean at La Push and is 61 percent complete. Currently the
county is working on a key extension of the trail running from the trailhead at the Jefferson Transit
Authority at Four Corners through Rayonier Timber lands to Anderson Lake State Park. Building this
segment will allow trail users to reach the state park on 10 miles of trail, with only one-third mile of non -
trail travel. This new section will be an exciting addition to the PS2P corridor. Our long-term land use,
transportation, and capital improvement plans include significant commitments to implementing PS2P
projects, community connections and transit support for active transportation.
Please support this PS2P RAISE grant and support this important project to provide the public health,
recreation, community development, and transportation benefits of trails to Olympic Peninsula
communities and beyond.
Sincerely,
BOARD OF JEFFERSON COUNWe
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Approved TelephonicgllY
Kate can on,Chair Heidi Eisenhour
District 1 District 3 District 2
Phone (360) 385-9100 Fax (360) 385-9382 jeffbocc@coJefferson.wa.us