Houston city officials excited about parking lot

HOUSTON — So far it doesn’t look like much — a lot of dirt where once there were trees. And as capital expenditures for the Mat-Su Borough goes, the $172,300 grant is relatively small.

But the city of Houston thinks the project, which will pay for a 60-car parking lot off Zero Lake Road, will go a long way toward promoting Houston as a recreation destination.

“We’re designing it for the purposes of motor homes pulling in with snowmobiles and dog teams with their big trucks,” Houston mayor Virgie Thompson said.

Christian Hartley, who sits on the city’s planning commission and a captain with the city’s fire department and serves as Thompson’s unofficial trails guru, said the city already runs a campground next to city hall. The city keeps track of where people say they’re from on their fee envelopes. The vast majority are in-state visitors, folks up from Anchorage or the Valley’s core area.

“A lot of them seem to come to Houston and this just gives them a wintertime destination,” he said.

The trails accessible from Zero Lake Road lead to trails that wind up in Hatcher Pass.

“This trail is just going to open up a lot of Hatcher Pass to a lot more access. Responsible, planned access,” Hartley said.

The borough looked at numerous places to build parking lots. The Zero Lake site scored highest. Hartley said that was mostly because of the size. The city has a lot of land there and it’s been cleared before — it’s been a coal mine and a dump — so the vegetation wasn’t terribly thick.

Thompson said the city broke ground July 16 and received bids from suppliers hoping to sell materials for the project. She said the project should be ready for materials at the end of the week.

“My goal is no later than six weeks to be complete,” she said.

The plan calls for the parking lot, bathrooms, a kiosk and signage. Thompson said she thinks there’s enough money in the grant to also do some trail marking with help from local snowmachining and dog mushing groups.

Those groups are already onboard. Hartley and Thompson agreed that both have been key in getting the project off the ground.

The project went through the usual comment period and public involvement. Hartley said the city heard nothing but positive feedback.

“All we’ve heard is a bunch of excitement,” he said.

And that includes excitement from the people who live nearby. What they get out of it is a widened road, city road maintenance further than it used to go and a lot that will keep people from blocking the road like they do now when they want to recreate.

If the parking lot has the desired effect and becomes a destination, Thompson said the city will look at expanding it. She said lighting from the Parks Highway to the site would be a possibility. If the city did that, it could also look at putting in plug-ins so motor homes and trucks could keep their engine blocks warm.

If people start coming to Houston in larger numbers, who knows? Maybe it’ll draw in some businesses, she said. Maybe it will fuel the long-dreamed-of gas station Houston has been pining for. Those riders and their gas-guzzling machines will be on the north end of town, after all. They’d probably support a filling station nearby.

“That’s what’s exciting about it — it’s bringing everyone through the city,” Thompson said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.