Pullman Civic Leaders Pull For City Fix-Up Bond

Building on the momentum of the popular Bill Chipman Palouse Trail, Pullman city officials hope voters will approve a $1.99 million bond Sept. 15 for a new greenway through town.

The bond, which would add approximately $43 a year onto the property taxes for a $100,000 home, would also be used for downtown beautification, sidewalk replacement and flood control.

“It’s such a legacy for the future,” said Pullman City Supervisor John Sherman. “We are getting to the end of the century and it’s kind of a nice thing to be leaving behind for future generations to enjoy.”

The proposed 12-foot-wide paved pedestrian and bike path would extend the Chipman trail to downtown. The Chipman trail currently links Moscow to Pullman along an eight-mile stretch of Paradise Creek. From the Chipman trail, the proposed path would cross Bishop Boulevard, Paradise Creek and then the South Fork of the Palouse River twice along the Koppel Farm property.

The path would then follow the riverfront and park property to downtown, where a separate path would take off parallel to North Grand avenue, along an unused gravel right-of-way.

Pullman Civic Trust member Nancy Mack, a key Chipman trail supporter, said the path would be the last link completing a “green necklace around Pullman.”

A trail from Grand to Terre View and over to the Moscow-Pullman Highway is under way. With the addition of the Pullman greenway, paths would essentially circle the town.

“We’re hoping people see that natural connection,” Mack said.

To use the Chipman trail, many residents must drive to the trail head to avoid downtown and hazardous sidewalks. The proposed path would improve safety for pedestrian/bicycle traffic throughout the city, Mack said.

“It isn’t easy for a mom up on Military Hill to say you can go ride on the Chipman trail, but first you have to go through Pullman,” Mack said.

The greenway would also add to efforts already under way to improve habitat and vegetation along the Palouse River, which state agencies have deemed severely polluted.

In the last three years, more than 4,000 students from Washington State University’s Center for Environmental Education have planted trees and native grasses along Paradise Creek and the Palouse River, said director Darin Saul.

“We need to get trees back on the river any way we can, not just for recreation but for the health of the river,” Saul said.

In addition to the greenway, the bond would provide funding to replace, grind or fill cracks in sidewalks that are considered hazardous to pedestrians. It would also pay for new trees, hanging plants and garbage cans downtown.

According to city officials, property tax levies are lower now than in past years due to the retirement of the city’s bond for the police building, elimination of the hospital district levy, property reassessment and expansion of the tax rolls.

MORE INFORMATION Detailed information about the proposed path is available at City Hall, Neill Public Library and the Gladish Community Center.