Kodiak council votes Thursday on backing a 10-mile path along Rezanof Drive

The Kodiak City Council votes Thursday on a resolution backing a proposed 10-mile paved path along Rezanof Drive, on the last day the state is taking public comments on the transportation plan that lists it.

The Kodiak Short Trail would be an 8-foot-wide path, separated from the road, connecting the city, the Coast Guard base and its housing, and Bells Flats. Right now the only way between them is the highway, which has narrow shoulders and posted speeds of 55 mph, the city wrote in its federal priorities list in February.

Council member Sandra West, who has spoken for the trail on behalf of Island Trails Network, the city's partner on the project, told the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly this month that the shoulder has gravel and sticks in it, so she often rides her bike on the white fog line.

The state put the trail in its draft 2027-2030 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, the list of projects eligible for federal transportation money, with about $2.6 million through 2030, mostly for design. The state estimates the whole project at about $28 million. The state's fiscal 2027 budget includes $925,000 for design, according to the resolution.

Under the resolution, the path would start at the Pier II cruise ship dock and be built in five segments, with retaining walls, drainage work and three bridge crossings. Shoulders on the Sargent Creek and Russian River bridges would be widened for people on foot.

The resolution says the trail would serve about 12,000 residents, including Coast Guard families, along with tourists and seasonal cannery workers. It cites a 2023 count of about 5,650 vehicles a day on Rezanof Drive.

Deputy City Manager Josie Bahnke told the council Oct. 22 that the city hoped to approve the resolution and "formally submit it to DOT for the city's public comment."

The state's comment period on the draft plan closes Thursday. Comments are due by 5 pm, Deputy Transportation Commissioner Katherine Keith told a Senate committee in September. The council's special meeting starts at 1 pm.