Eureka Reporter

State Assemblywoman Patty Berg declared her support today for a bay trail between Eureka and Arcata, a news release stated.

“I wholeheartedly support the creation of a bay trail between Eureka and Arcata,” said Berg, (D-Eureka). “The time is now and this opportunity should not be wasted.”

Berg expressed confidence that the state agencies involved were ready to collaborate on a bay trail plan. “The voters want open space and recreation and that’s why they passed a bond to pay for it,” she said. “The longer we delay, the more likely it is that other communities will get the lion’s share of that bond money.”

In Nov. 2006, California voters approved Proposition 84, which allocated more than $100 million statewide for California Coastal Conservancy programs to conserve natural resources and a provide public access along the coast. The Conservancy has roughly $3.5 million statewide this year, the release stated.

Berg, who serves as a legislative appointee to the Coastal Conservancy, said she would “do her part” in identifying funding sources to pay for a trail.

According to the Humboldt Bay Trail Feasibility Study, it is estimated that the trail would generate 660,000 non-motorized trips, bring $3.8 million to the local economy, generate over $70 million in health benefits and save more than 30,000 vehicle trips every year.

Representatives of the North Coast Railroad Authority, which owns the track where the proposed bay trail would be developed, have said they remain committed to repairing the tracks after a decade of nonuse to handle freight.
Last week the NCRA and the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District both approved a joint application for $19 million in state transportation funding to revive the rail from Samoa to South Fork to allow the movement of freight through the Port of Humboldt Bay.