Howard Amon trees face ax as Richland considers widening walkway

Richland could remove 10 to 25 trees in Howard Amon Park to widen a popular walkway along the Columbia River.

The city’s hearings examiner will hold a public hearing on the plan at 6 p.m. July 28 at City Hall, 505 Swift Blvd.

The project would widen the path, install electrical conduit to support proposed lights, and remove trees whose roots could interfere with the asphalt in the future.

Phil Pinard, the city’s parks and recreation manager, said the walkway needs to be widened to accommodate the growing number of bicyclists, pedestrians, families, dog walkers and others.

But the city also recognizes that citizens are attached to Howard Amon’s mature trees, now more than 60 years old. It will keep the cutting to a minimum, though the project could offer an opportunity to remove and replace failing specimens.

“Richland loves trees, obviously,” he said.

As much as it loves trees, Richland also loves its waterfront walkway. The existing path is 8 feet wide and is often so crowded that some users have to walk or ride beside the asphalt rather than on it.

The city anticipated heavy use in 2001, when it adopted a master plan for Howard Amon Park that envisioned a 12-foot “promenade” on the waterfront.

With use growing every year, the city wants to do the plan one better and widen it to 15 feet. The path runs about 3,500 feet from Haines Levee at the north to the Richland Hampton Inn at the south.

It will take several years to complete the path-widening project, Pinard said. If approved, the city will begin work this fall on a 350-foot stretch to the south of Lee Boulevard. Future sections will be completed as funds become available, possibly through grants from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

The project could be a chance to remove unhealthy trees, such as black locust toward the park’s southern end, Pinard said. The elms to the north are healthy. To preserve them, the city could reroute the path away from the water or split it.

“We’ll make some adjustments as we go and we’ll save as many trees as we can,” he said.

Preserving Howard Amon’s mature tree canopy is a top priority, but it’s a challenge that goes beyond the path-widening project.

Like much of Richland, Howard Amon dates to the 1940s. The park’s original trees were planted at the same time and will hit the end of their lifespans at the same time. That date is approaching, Pinard said.

To that end, Richland will plant 20 new trees in the south end of the park this fall.

“We’re going to make sure that canopy is maintained,” he said.

In the meantime, traffic on the path is reaching critical levels. Eight feet isn’t enough space for more than a few people. The wider trail will give users more time to react and adjust to traffic around them.

“You get two strollers abreast and you get a bicycle trying to pass and it becomes difficult,” he said.

Richland requires a shoreline substantial development permit to expand the trail. It previously determined that the widening project will not substantially impact the environment and does not require an environmental impact statement.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Howard Amon trees face ax as Richland considers widening walkway."