Salmonberry Trail Project
A Community Path in Rockaway Beach
The City of Rockaway Beach is currently working with partner organizations and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to refine plans for the Rockaway Beach segment of the Salmonberry Trail pathway. This future pathway will be a valuable corridor for walking and rolling along the coast and will eventually become part of a much larger network connecting many Oregon communities.
What has already been done to realize this path?
Many residents are understandably excited to see this pathway built, and a good deal of previous work has gone into its planning. Below is a brief timeline that describes the past planning that has happened to move toward building this pathway:
- 2017: Salmonberry Trail Coast Segment Planning Study Parametrix produced the Salmonberry Trail Coast Segment Planning Study, which included the section of the pathway through Rockaway Beach.
- 2021: Oregon Community Paths Grant awarded In 2021, the City of Rockaway Beach was applied for an ODOT Community Path’s Grant seeking $1,757,000 to construct the Rockaway Beach portion of the Salmonberry Trail, cycling and pedestrian path that will connect Washington Street to Beach Street, while also providing a safe route to school for the students at Neah-Kah-Nie High and Middle School. Later that year, the City was awarded the grant request. In the application, the City relied upon the 2017 Salmonberry Trail Coast Segment Planning Study estimates in determining the grant request amount. Unfortunately, construction costs skyrocketed between 2017 and 2021 and the estimated 2017 costs contained in the Planning Study were not sufficient to plan and construct the trail.
- 2023: Community engagement around pathway planning In 2023, the City contracted with Destination Management Advisors to engage the community in conversations about the pathway in Rockaway Beach. The consultant team held several public listening sessions and numerous engagement sessions with strategic community partners to hear the community’s concerns regarding the trail and to determine the desired alignment. At the conclusion of their contract, Destination Management Advisors provided the City with four alignment options for the trail.
Learn more about Destination Management Advisors work on the Salmonberry Trail here. - 2024: A new approach and a new agreement with ODOT While the City’s community engagement was taking place, the City was also working with ODOT to revive and revise the 2021 Community Path’s award. In early 2024, the City entered into a new agreement with ODOT taking a phased approach to the trail’s execution, as well as reducing the grant budget to $672,975. With the new agreement in place ODOT, along with City staff, selected Alta Planning + Design, Inc. to serve as the consultants for this project. In March 2024, ODOT and Alta entered into a contract for this work.
What's happening now?
With Alta on board as consultants and ODOT serving as the Project Manager the Rockaway Beach Salmonberry Pathway project is in Phase 1: Planning. Currently, the project team is:
- Reviewing all previous planning documents and data to understand what has been planned, feedback from community members, and how this trail can fit the needs of Rockaway Beach.
- Arranging meetings with key agency representatives and members of the community to better understand their needs.
- Planning additional opportunities for the general public to provide feedback during the summer of 2024 (See How can I get involved? below).
The City of Rockaway Beach, along with other key strategic partners, such as the Salmonberry Trail Foundation, Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, and the Port of Tillamook Bay, will provide comment and support throughout the project. While the City has a seat at the table, the contract for the execution of work is between ODOT and Alta.
I have thoughts to share. How can I get involved?
This summer, the project team will be reaching out to the community to share what we already know and gather feedback about the preferred alignment for the path. The following schedule describes opportunities for Rockaway Beach community members to get involved and share their ideas:
In June and July, there will be opportunities to get involved and share comments and feedback. You can find our table at:
- The Second Annual Picnic at Phyllis Baker City Park – June 27, 2024 from 11am-3pm
- Rockaway Beach July 4th Celebration – July 4, 2024
Additional opportunities for public engagement will be posted here as soon as they are scheduled.
If you’d like to share feedback with the project team directly, please reach out via email to RockawayBeachSalmonberryTrail@AltaGo.com.
What’s next? How will we get this pathway built?
Once Alta has completed the planning phase of this project (in Fall 2024), they will begin work on Phase 2: Design, which will develop a 30% design for the pathway based on community feedback. With the completion of Phase 1 (Planning), the City of Rockaway Beach will also be in a position to apply for the 2024 ODOT Community Paths Grant (or seek funding from another source ) to finalize the pathway design, and to complete the engineering and construction of the project.
[1] The Salmonberry Trail Intergovernmental Agency (STIA) applied for a RAISE grant in 2024 to fund construction funding of the Rockaway Beach portion of the trail, with Tillamook County acting as the applicant agency. This is another potential source of funding for pathway construction.