$500,000 Outdoor Recreation Grant for Tacoma Waterfront Trail

Metro Parks has been awarded a $500,000 outdoor recreation grant to complete work on the "missing link" of Tacoma's waterfront trails.

The grant will fund the completion of the final half-mile of the seven miles of trails that connect downtown Tacoma to Point Defiance. An interim version of the connector opened last month, connecting Ruston Way to Point Defiance Park along the water, but the final version will be even nicer. The finished trail will be 20 feet wide, and include a pedestrian/bike bridge over vehicle traffic to and from the ferry dock, marina, and Anthony's.

The grant is the largest chunk of $800,000 in outdoor recreation grants awarded in Washington to projects that improve or protect special places for outdoor recreation. Funding for the grants comes from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, through the National Park Service from royalties on off-shore oil and gas resources. Along with the grant money, $2.5 million from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, and another $2 million from Metro Parks will help complete the project.

This moves the trails project another step closer to completion. Now, if only we could get a grant to do something about that messy intersection at the Pearl Street park entrance...