The Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail would bring many benefits to our area!
1. Waterfront access: Idahoans and visitors love North Idaho’s beautiful lakes, but access is increasingly limited. As our community grows and changes, the shores of Lake Pend Oreille are becoming more and more crowded, and some access points are lost forever. We need our natural areas nearby where we can enjoy what makes North Idaho a great place to live.
2. Alternative transportation: The Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail will connect our communities with a non-motorized shoreline route for people going to work and play in Sandpoint, Ponderay and Kootenai.
3. A Park for Ponderay: The City of Ponderay has waterfront property, but no safe way to access it. The vision for the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail includes a railroad underpass in Ponderay to provide safe access to the waterfront.
4. Economic benefits: Greenways, natural areas and trails increase property values, attract tourists and increase money spent on recreation. This trail would be a destination and an attractive amenity for businesses thinking of moving to our area.
5. Education: The Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail features historic sites on either end – with the Humbird Mill site next to theSandpoint Water Treatment Plant and the Panhandle Smelting and Refining Company site at Black Rock. In addition, the trail offers the opportunity to learn about native plants and wildlife.
6. Safety: The proposed trail would help stop trespassing across the Burlington Northern-Sante Fe Railroad tracks that parallel the trail. The trail would direct users to controlled trailheads, create an underpass for Ponderay and prevent trespass where the tracks are easy to access. The trail project also would result in mutual aid agreements between cities and the county to help patrol and respond to emergencies along the trail.