Board seeks public input on Glenn beautification

PALMER -- The Glenn Highway Scenic Byway Partnership Board has scheduled a membership meeting open to the public Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Palmer Moose Lodge.

The board is hoping to organize efforts to provide an interpretive plan for the byway. This process will engage local residents, businesses, and communities to identify opportunities and expand support for the Glenn Highway Scenic Byway. The board is seeking comments from residents currently living by and near the Glenn.

A recent federal grant for $140,000 provided interpretive signs and other visual enhancements to the roadway. Other projects being conducted by the cities of Palmer and Anchorage continue to improve access and traffic flow along the Glenn. The Glenn is also slated to be widened to a four-lane thoroughfare sometime over the next few years. Palmer is working to manage this growth by pushing for a boulevard-style Glenn with a planted median through the city.

The Glenn was designated a National Scenic Byway by U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta in June 2002. The 328-mile Glenn Highway, which runs primarily east-west and passes many scenic locations in its course along the Matanuska River area west of the Matanuska Glacier, is a popular roadway for tourists and provides Valley residents access to Glennallen, Tok, and other points east. Changes to the highway are therefore likely to have a widespread effect.