
In recent email conversations with Public Works, Scot Brantley project manager for Clark County Public Works, the Salmon Creek Business Group received an update about several completed Public Works projects in Salmon Creek. Brantley served as the project manager for the projects and designer in one too.
There is a new walking path along Salmon Creek Avenue which connects to WSU Vancouver’s circulation plan. This [project] fills a big gap in Clark County’s trails plan.
The Chinook Neighborhood Park opened last year (September 2014) which is tucked between 139th and 149th. It’s a 4.5 acre park with a playground, benches, tables, but also a land bridge. With the completion of this park, Clark County is one step closer to fulfilling its mission of having a park within a few miles of every home.
For years, this space served as a shortcut for kids to walk to the nearby schools Skyview, Alki, and Chinook Elementary. To read more about this project, other parks in Clark County, and the how many parks have opened since 2005, click here.
The Pleasant Valley Pedestrian Bridge, which received American Public Works Association Project of the Year, connects Pleasant Valley Community Park to WSU Vancouver.
Originally this bridge was old, narrow, wood, and provided limited site distance when vehicles and pedestrians occupied it at the same time. The bridge was coowned by Clark County and private landowners, but the new private bridge code deemed it was in the public’s interest for the county to relinquish is ownership since the bridge would require significant improvement.
The solution was for Public Works to build a new 180-foot-long pedestrian bridge just downstream. All improvements were built on Clark County property. To read more about the project and the award submission, click here.