Panel will help decide future of tracks

PALMER — Are the train tracks running through town a cherished piece of the city’s history or an dilapidated eyesore standing in the way of progress? And what should the city do with them anyway?

Figuring that out will be the goal of a charrette the city plans to convene this summer or fall. A charrette, said Sandra Garley, is essentially a panel of community members and stakeholders convened to study an issue. The group is handed city documents that touch on the issue at hand and asked to see if there is a workable solution.

Garley said that so far the city has requested bids from firms willing to run those meetings and winnowed the list of candidates down to three who are qualified. Soon, city officials will choose a firm to recommend to the city council.

“Sometime in July and August we will actually have the consultant start looking for people who would like to serve on that body,” Garley said.

The tracks have been a contentious issue since at least last summer. It was around that time the Palmer City Council considered two diametrically opposed resolutions — one supporting the tracks’ removal, the other their refurbishment.

Removal of the tracks is part of the city’s Urban Revitalization Project. That project calls for the tracks to be taken out in favor of a walking trail connecting the Alaska State Fairgrounds to the Matanuska River. A small section of tracks would have been preserved in front of the Palmer Train Depot.

Detractors say the tracks divide the town in half, creating barriers to movement and a hazard to strollers and wheelchairs. School buses are still required to stop at the tracks, backing up traffic despite the fact that the railroad has deemed the tracks unsafe and they are seldom, if ever, used.

Supporters of the rails say the tracks are a piece of the town’s history and hold to hopes that the tracks will one day be refurbished and put back in service.

Supporters also point out that the railroad was the main transportation route for the original Matanuska colonists and that the tracks were built to service the old Chickaloon coalfields.

Still others wonder if it’s worth spending the money to remove the tracks.

Once the charrette has done its work, Garley said, it will forward a recommendation to the Palmer City Council, which will have the final say.

Anyone who wants to serve on the charrette should call the city at 745-3271 and ask for Garley. They can also e-mail her directly at sgarley@palmerak.org.

She said she would keep interested parties informed as to when the consultant will start its work.

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