Brady’s Leap trail segment open for use; construction expected to be complete in the spring
Walkers, runners and cyclists can now use the Brady’s Leap segment of the Portage Bike and Hike Trail in downtown Kent.
The main trail is open for use along with a new overlook deck. The trail can be accessed by the segment's new entrance on Gougler Avenue.
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Work continues on other aspects of the project, including a new bicycle stairway connecting the Main Street Bridge to Whitewater Park below. For now, those stairs are closed because of a delay in materials, said Rhonda Boyd, Kent senior engineer.
The updated segment of the trail provides a connector between the trail joining John Brown Tannery Park to East Main Street in Kent, and another trail headed north at Fairchild Avenue. Improvements made include a wider concrete path and lighting along the new trail section as well as an overlook deck.
The project cost about $1.4 million and was funded through grants and Kent Parks and Recreation Department funds. Construction began in May and is expected to be complete in the spring of 2022.
The trail was intended to make commuting between the trail and downtown Kent easier. After about five years of planning, construction on the Brady's Leap segment of The Portage Hike and Bike Trailbegan earlier this year.
The first trail in the Brady's Leap project area was cut by the Kent Environmental Council in the 1970s, according to Kent Superintendent of Engineering Jim Bowling. To draw attention to the updated path, archways with signs depicting wildlife and people will stand above entrances to the "Brady’s Leap Riverwalk." One is at the Gougler Avenue entrance and the other at the Main Street Bridge entrance.
Bowling said he had received a number of calls from people who wished that the trail was more connected to downtown. Before, people had to go under the bridge and up a few flights of stairs to get to street level. There was no way to get a bike up there without carrying it. Plus, the previous trail path was narrow and made of brick.
Stairs will lead from the Main Street Bridge down to Whitewater Park below. It will include a channel in the middle of the steps to make moving bikes up and down much easier. Wooden fencing placed in steep areas will also prevent bikers from falling down sloped land near the edges of the new path.
For those looking to actually get in the water, though, boat ramps are located just a little further north of the new overlook deck.
Contact reporter Kaitlyn McGarvey with Kent news by email at kmcgarvey@recordpub.com or on Twitter at @kaitlynmcg_rc.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Brady’s Leap trail segment now open for use in Kent
