2021-09-27-minutes-public-works-study-session

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Key Destinations and Viewpoints The plan highlights Wedding Rock along the Main Ridge Road as a popular destination and existing viewpoint. New viewpoints located on proposed trails will provide views into the Teanaway River valley, the Stuart Range, and south to Mount Rainier. General Road Closure Concepts This plan focuses on trail opportunities and does not address the management of roads, but old logging and mining roads could be an asset or a liability to trail implementation in the future. Historically, many of the roads within the project area were developed for natural resource mining or timber logging. Over the years many of these roads were abandoned while others have remained open for various levels of use. One key road labeled the Rat Pack Uptrack is a key trail route in the master plan. Along with recreational use, this road is used as a service road to access Cle Elum Ridge by TNC, communication companies, and fire crews. A fire break was developed along the Ridge Road in the summer of 2017 during a large fire event. This critical access route is gated and will remain open to vehicular use for management purposes by TNC, who owns the land, but it is also identified in the plan as open for non -motorized trail use. Private land owners including TNC can close roads on their property as they desire. New roads may be added for access as well. As part of the trail system management, permanent road closures may be desired. When needed, create a ditch at the road closure point and place boulders and logs as a visual and physical barrier. If needed, install a gate or other road -blocking methods. Temporary road or trail closures or re -location may be required by private land owners for timber management, fire suppression, and maintenance. Temporary road closures are not expected to impact established trail easements or corridors identified in this plan, because the design focuses on trail recreation connections that do not rely on roads. Master Plan Trail Typology and Level of Difficulty Four trail types with three trail difficulty designations are incorporated into the Master Plan. The parameters for difficulty levels are based on the US Forest Service Trail Design Parameters (USDA Trail Fundamentals and Trail Management Objectives), which are also consistent with the Washington State DNR trail standards. These standards provide a federally accepted basis for each trail design, to ensure that appropriate difficulty levels are allocated to each trail type. While based on the Forest Service trail standards, the standards for the TTC Master Plan have been tailored slightly to provide simpler, more streamlined parameters for ease of future implementation. For the hiking and mountain biking trails, there are black diamond (most difficult) and blue/intermediate (moderate difficulty) trails. The hiking and biking only trails are blue/intermediate or green/easy. All green/easy trails are multi -use trails, as many of these trails will traverse across the slopes and serve as connector trails. Multi -use trails may also have a blue/intermediate difficulty level since some of these trails climb to the ridge. The following outline provides more specifics on trail types and the gradient range within the difficulty level. Trail Types • Hiking Trails (only) • Mountain Biking Trails (only) • Hiking and Biking Only Trails • Multi -use Trails (Equestrian, Hiking, and Biking allowed) Trail Difficulty Levels • Black Diamond — Most Difficult • Blue/Intermediate — Moderate Level of Difficulty • Green/Easiest — Easy Level of Difficulty Towns to Teanaway Corridor Master Plan p 114 of 26 Prepared for: Economic Development Group of Kittitas Co. & Kittitas Co. Parks and Recreation District No. 1 Prepared by: J.A. Brennan Associates, Landscape Architects & Planners