Staff outlines elevated Schuster Parkway Trail design, flags steep‑slope costs and a 30%‑design target

Public Works and its consultant team presented a 10% design update April 22 for the Schuster Parkway Trail (the Dome‑to‑Defiance Trail), reiterating a preferred elevated alignment and identifying major cost drivers that staff said will shape next steps and funding strategies.

Basil Kiddino, Public Works project manager, told the committee the project has been part of the city’s vision since a 2013 conceptual report and that the 10% design work to date includes topographic and geotechnical surveys, hazardous‑materials review and a conceptual alignment. Kiddino said the alignment aims to provide a continuous, non‑motorized route from the Dome District to Point Defiance and that the design prioritizes safety, accessibility and a signature, high‑quality user experience.

The project team explained three primary cost drivers: extensive retaining walls and large cut‑and‑fill volumes required by steep, unstable slopes; a robust lighting design intended to meet CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) safety guidelines; and placemaking and art elements that improve the trail experience but add cost. Holly Williams, a consultant on the team, said the project is evaluating options to reduce lighting scope while preserving safety, and to hold conceptual art elements as future, separate projects so core alignment and infrastructure can be constructed on a phased schedule.

Council members pressed staff for historical context on cost escalation. One member said public perceptions had grown from a 2013 figure of roughly $40 million to much larger recent estimates; staff responded that costs have risen with inflation and that additional design work and geotechnical investigations have revealed needs (for example, more substantial walls and slope stabilization) that raise construction estimates. Kiddino said roughly $1,000,000 of the $4,000,000 design allocation had been spent to reach 10% design and that staff previously estimated full design would be on the order of $12,000,000 (presenters described that $12 million as an earlier working estimate rather than a final construction cost).

On feasibility alternatives, staff said prior studies found widening the existing sidewalk would likely require eliminating a traffic lane in segments and that, for slope‑stability and continuity reasons, an elevated alignment was the preferred alternative at the time. Committee members requested that staff bring the 2013 feasibility study to the 30% briefing and provide a clearer breakdown of how much of the project cost growth is attributable to inflation versus newly identified technical scope items.

Timing and next steps: Kiddino said staff aims to complete 30% design by late 2027, subject to funding availability and further geotechnical work. The team plans targeted stakeholder engagement (utilities, permitting agencies, police and fire, neighborhood councils) before advancing to 30% and will study phasing and multiple funding sources so the project can be built in affordable segments if needed.