Biking and walking around Centralia could become easier should the urban and nature trails in the Hub City Greenways proposal be implemented.
Following a year and a half of research, the Centralia Housing Committee unveiled the Hub City Greenways proposal during a workshop prior to the Centralia City Council meeting on Tuesday.
Mayor Kelly Smith Johnston, Mayor Pro-Tem Cameron McGee, Councilor Mark Westley and city staff have been meeting with partner agencies including the Office of Chehalis Basin, Twin Transit and the Centralia School District while developing this plan, according to Centralia Deputy City Manager Amy Buckler.
“Hub City Greenways is a vision for Centralia of a connected trail system that winds throughout the city and links natural areas, recreational areas and neighborhoods,” Buckler said. “Along the way are neighborhood hubs that serve as places to connect and engage with one another.”
By adding a total of 25 miles of urban and nature trails in Centralia, residents will be able to traverse the city all the way from the Seminary Hill Nature Area to Rotary Riverside and Fort Borst parks to the Discovery Trail, Buckler said.
Buckler said she believes this is a project Centralia residents would be interested in from her work updating the city’s parks plan.
“I’ve been reviewing some of the prior feedback from the public from the past update, and the No. 1-ranked item that people would like to see more of in the parks system was trails,” Buckler said.
Proposed nature trails will run along both the Chehalis and Skookumchuck rivers to better utilize the 1,905 acres of shoreline Centralia has. While flooding is a risk, Buckler said most of the year the trails wouldn’t be flooded.
“When they do flood, it’s OK because trails can handle it,” Buckler added.
Additionally, she said she believes the trails can help connect people in 10 neighborhood hubs, which will help preserve Centralia’s small-town feel as it grows in the future. Centralia is predicted to see a 31% population increase by 2045.
“The committee was tasked with taking a deep dive into housing and supporting the city’s housing action plan, which was adopted in June,” Buckler said.
In June, the Centralia Housing Assessment and Action Plan (CHAAP) was approved unanimously by Centralia City Council. It aims to maintain housing production while diversifying housing types and focusing on affordable housing for those earning less than 30% of the area’s median income.
Other objectives include reinvesting in existing neighborhoods, making effective use of existing infrastructure, expanding infrastructure to effectively use urban land and encouraging walkable neighborhoods.
Buckler said committee members also focused a lot on the city’s projected growth while developing the CHAAP, and wanted to take advantage of the growth to maintain Centralia’s community connections.
Some parts of the Hub City Greenways project are already being carried out.
The project includes plans to improve walking routes to schools for students with new sidewalks, marked crosswalks with flashing beacons and Americans with Disabilities Act-approved curb ramps. The sidewalk improvements included in the Reynolds Avenue and Harrison Avenue improvement project and the Westside Connector project will add urban trail routes, too.
Though these projects are already in motion, the full Hub City Greenways proposal will be completed gradually over the next 20 years.
“The trail aspect of Hub City Greenways would need to be incorporated into the parks plan,” Buckler said.
Smith Johnston said she believes it will help create a cohesive vision for growth and community connection over the next 20 years.
If implemented, Hub City Greenways will be incorporated not only into Centralia’s Parks Plan but its 20-year Comprehensive Plan.
“Because it’s a 20-year vision, it has to live through 10 councils because you get a new council seated every two years,” Smith Johnston said.
Centralia residents will get the opportunity to provide input on the Hub City Greenways project at an upcoming open house at Fort Borst Park on Nov. 13 and throughout 2024 during the Comprehensive Plan’s public outreach process.
“I really want the community to have pride in our town and see a future that is wonderful and work toward it, but I worry with all the immediate challenges it’ll feel frivolous, and I don’t think it’s frivolous at all,” Smith Johnston said. “We are actively working on multiple issues.”
