Island County wants to make it a little safer for students to walk to and from school along Maxwelton Road. Island County Public Works is proposing to build an 8-foot-wide pedestrian/bike trail along Maxwelton Road.

Armed with a proposal for a trail from in front of the Intermediate and Primary schools to the transportation building, Gwenn Maxfield, assistant director of Island County Public Works, presented a preliminary offer to the South Whidbey school board.

The county is asking for a 10-foot-wide easement from the school district so the county can construct an 8-foot-wide trail. The county will maintain the trail and install crosswalks linking both the Primary School to the south entrance of Community Park, and the transportation building to South Whidbey High School.

At its most recent meeting, the school board approved the idea with the caveat that the district will only give the county a construction easement to build the trail.

School board member Jim Adsley expressed concern about granting a permanent easement to the county and possibly losing access to district property.

“The trail is a great idea, but there are legal issues with easements to consider,” Adsley said.

“I just want to make sure we maintain access to our sites,” he said.

Adsley said at some point the district may consider fencing off schools for security reasons.

The school board did not come to a resolution. They will deal with the easement question during the design process.

The trail is expected to improve safety for students because there is no sidewalk along Maxwelton Road. Students walk along the road on their way to school or the way home, and also for field trips to Community Park.

Superintendent Fred McCarthy said it made sense to quickly approve the plan.

“It’s in our best interests, and time is of the essence. This is quite a forward-viewing move. If we wait, the federal funding may not be available,” McCarthy said.

The county presented two alternatives for the trail. The first option involves a letter from the district to the county for right-of-entry to permit trail construction.

“Under this scenario the county would not maintain the trail because we would not have a permanent easement,” Maxfield said.

A second option is to construct the trail only to the park entrance opposite the Primary School.

“This reduction in scope is acceptable to the county commissioners, but it is not preferable,” she said.

Construction could begin this fall or next spring, depending on the schedule of the Bayview Road shop.

“Our goal is to work on the specific design of the trail during the next several months,” Maxfield said.

The trail will be financed by federal and local funds.

The original Maxwelton Trail was designed to connect the Island County Fairgrounds in Langley to just south of the Community Park on the east side of busy Maxwelton Road.

However, due to property owners’ unwillingness to grant easements for the proposed meandering trail, the route of the trail was changed.

“We have reduced the trail’s scope,” Maxfield said. “If future conditions allow, we would like to extend the project.”

Gayle Saran can be reached at 221-5300 or gsaran@southwhidbeyrecord.com.