SNOHOMISH — To bicyclists, the planned extension of the Centennial Trail2CF3BFF8 sounds like paved bliss — another reason to strap on their helmets and get on their Treks.
To Carl Heinzer, it’s something else entirely.
“It’s a disaster,” said Heinzer, 75, of Snohomish.
Heinzer and other members of the Snohomish Senior Center2D8F32D0 are faulting the southern extension of the trail. The development will swallow up 20 parking spaces or more than a third of the center’s parking lot.
City officials said they can’t save those parking spaces, which sit on land set aside for the three-quarter mile extension. The city is bound by $2.5 million in federal grants to remove the spots as it develops land between Pine Avenue and Bowen Street.
“We’re not doing this arbitrarily,” city manager Larry Bauman said. “We’re doing this to protect the investment.”
Right now, the senior center parking lot has room for about 50 vehicles. The trail will cut that down to about 30 spots, forcing some seniors to park farther away and walk.
That will pose a challenge for some members who have trouble walking a single block, Heinzer said.
“If you lose the parking, you might as well shut the senior center down,” he said.
Senior center officials are braced for the change, though.
The facility opened in 2009 on city property. Officials knew the city planned to develop the land between the Centennial Trail and the Snohomish Riverfront Trail2D1F18C8, connecting the two.
“It’s not like it’s sudden news to us,” said Kim Mosley, the senior center’s executive director. “It is to our membership.”
The center has more than 625 members, Mosley said. Each day, 50 to 60 people visit the facility. The parking lot often fills. Many seniors use the spots that are set to disappear.
“When I come to my tai chi class, that’s where I park,” said Kathy Wilkie, 66.
Plans are underway to help seniors deal with the loss of the spaces.
The center acquired a 14-person bus it will use for a new transit program, bringing seniors directly from their homes to the center. That program may begin this fall.
The center also may tweak its activity schedule, so popular events don’t overlap. That could mean lighter crowds — and fewer cars in the lot — at any given time.
Some seniors also could use the trail itself to get to the center. It will run right in front of the building.
And many seniors are fans of the Centennial Trail, too.
“It’s a problem we should solve,” Wilkie said of the parking. “But I wouldn’t give up the trail for it. I love that trail.”
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com
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