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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 21, 2005 Bear Creek Greenway nears the end of a long trail By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune The second-to-last leg of the Bear Creek Greenway is around the corner. "The piece through the (Medford sports) park will be built next year," said Karen Smith, Jackson County’s Greenway coordinator. The conditional use permit for a public multiuse path from Medford Sports and Community Park north to Charlotte Ann Road is coming before the Medford Planning Commission at 5 p.m.Thursday in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 411 W. Eighth St., Medford. Suzanne Myers, city associate planner, said the commission will be looking at the impact of building an impervious surface within the 50-foot-wide riparian corridor along Bear Creek. Myers said "it’s highly unlikely" the commission would deny the permit. Advertisement Construction of the 18-mile Greenway along Bear Creek between Ashland and Central Point began in 1973. Jackson County Commissioner Isabel Sickels became an ardent Greenway advocate in the 1970s. In 1973, the Oregon Department of Transportation built the first 3.4-mile stretch of the pedestrian path through Medford. Since then the project has moved in fits and starts as supporters searched for construction money. Federal grants to promote alternative transportation funded some construction in the 1990s. In June the segment from Talent to Blue Heron Park in Phoenix was completed. The final leg will be a complex one, where the Greenway meets the old and new south Medford interchanges. As it stands, ODOT will build a path that crosses Barnett Road at street level, according to Gary Leaming, project information coordinator with ODOT. If the Greenway supporters and the county want to go beneath the bridge, in order to keep a continuous path, they have to acquire the environmental permits and right of way, he said. Smith said a replacement bridge for Barnett Road over Bear Creek, to be built by 2011, will be taller and longer and easier to build a path beneath, which they hope to do. "By 2006 it should be open all the way from Ashland to the sports park," said Smith. "In 2008, it should be Ashland to Central Point." Additional information about the Greenway, including a map, can be found at bearcreekgreenway.com on the Web. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail Bear Creek Greenway nears the end of a long trail ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s