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County will ask state for $1.6 million to finish 2.1-mile section of Greenway By PETER WONG The Bear Creek Greenway, more than 25 years in the making, is progressing another step or two toward completion. Jackson County commissioners voted Wednesday to ask the state for $1.6 million, which will help complete a 2.13-mile stretch between South Stage Road and South Phoenix Park in 2002. The county is awaiting official approval next month of almost $2 million for another 2-mile stretch from Barnett Road in Medford south to South Stage Road. "We are trying to be aggressive about closing the gaps," said Karen Smith, special projects manager for Jackson County Roads and Parks Services. The county is overseeing linkage of the Bear Creek Greenway between cities. The greenway provides a path for pedestrians and bicyclists. If the county secures the latest grant for the South Stage Road-South Phoenix Park link, only one gap will remain in the 18-mile greenway. It is a 2-mile stretch between South Phoenix Park and Suncrest Road in Talent. The $1.6 million would come from a special statewide fund controlled by the Oregon Department of Transportation. It is federal money that would be matched by $188,249 from the city of Phoenix and the Bear Creek Greenway Foundation. "We have no idea how we will fare," Smith said. "But we figure we can make a pretty good case for it." The greenway began with a 3.5-mile stretch through Medford in 1973. It now links Central Point with Medford, and Ashland with Talent. The Ashland-Talent link and the central Ashland bikeway were completed last year. Another 2-mile stretch between Barnett Road in south Medford and South Stage Road awaits formal approval of $1,947,000 contained in the state transportation improvement plan. The Oregon Transportation Commission is scheduled to approve the plan next month. Smith said officials will proceed with work on that segment once the money is approved. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA