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Greenway closes in on final 2 miles Mail Tribune / Steve Johnson Backers of the Bear Creek Greenway hope to raise enough money to fill the 6-mile Medford-to-Talent gap and finish the biking and hiking trail that will one day stretch 18.5 miles from Central Point to Ashland. Here, a biker glides through the newest trail along Eagle Mill Road north of Ashland. Funding takes steps toward end of project to connect trails from Central Point to Ashland By Jessica Smith Inch by inch and row by row, so says the song, that�s how to make a garden grow. For the Bear Creek Greenway, growth has been inch by inch and slow, slow, slow. For more than 25 years, community leaders and greenway supporters have worked to unite five cities along the Bear Creek corridor with an 18.5-mile trail that protects the creek and provides a safe route for pedestrians and bicyclists. Greenway backers say the end is coming into focus. In 1973, organizers began working to secure land for the path and trails now link Central Point to Medford and Talent to Ashland. All that remains is a 6-mile gap between Medford and Talent. "People are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel," said Lee Mills, president of the Bear Creek Greenway Foundation. "We�re hoping to build momentum to bridge the gap." With donations totaling $63,000, the greenway foundation is just $15,000 away from its fund-raising goal for a 2-mile section of the missing trail between Medford and Talent. Money raised today in the annual Asante Bear Creek Greenway Classic, a walk-run along existing and future greenway trails, might put the foundation over its $78,000 goal, organizers say. That would mean secured funding for the 2-mile section, from Barnett Road in Medford to South Stage Road outside Phoenix. About 90 percent of the project�s estimated $1.9 million cost comes from federal sources, the remainder from the greenway foundation and a $120,000 pledge from the city of Medford. It�s been that way for the greenway from the start � organizers scrambling to pull the project together through government grants, donations and fund-raising campaigns. "In some regard, the way it has worked out has been good for the community," said Karen Smith, a county parks department projects manager who has worked on the greenway for more than 20 years. "This way, the community is encouraged to make something happen for themselves." Once funding for the Barnett-South Stage path is secured � construction is still two years away � backers say they�ll begin raising money to build the rest of the trail. About $4 million is needed to extend the greenway from South Stage Road to Suncrest Road in Talent. No federal dollars are committed to that section. Still, community leaders say they�re heartened by recent progress. "It�s an encouragement to see even small parts of the greenway be done," said Marian Telerski, mayor of Talent. "It gives you the feeling that your part will be finished." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA