Larry Leveen, Director, ForeverGreen Trails

The 2026 legislative session is in more than full swing and FGT has a number of legislative priorities. It is working to ensure good policy and funding for active recreation and active mobility. Of specific importance for the Foothills Coalition are the following:

HB 2095: Protecting vulnerable users of public ways. This bill would create refutable, presumptive liability for motorists, who strike a pedestrian or cyclist in certain areas, such as a crosswalk or bike facility. Much like the presumed liability for when a driver rear ends a vehicle, this would help protect active mode users who are often seriously injured or killed on our roadways and are often the victims of bias in collision reporting by law enforcement and media. While this bill will not prevent collisions, it is part of a much-needed effort to shift away from a car-centric society.

HB 2374/SB6110: Electric-assisted bicycle & electric motorcycle regulation. Across the country the unregulated use of electric motorcycles is causing serious injuries and fatalities among their drivers – often teenagers – and others. This bill will define electric motorcycles and differentiate them from electric assist bicycles, enabling local jurisdiction and land managers to regulate their use. The House bill is the better of the two because it does more to address what many consider a scourge of electric motorcycles, many of which are specifically designed by manufacturers to look like bicycles so they “fly under the radar” of law enforcement and parents alike.

HB1992/ESB5581: Implementing safe system approach strategies for active transportation infrastructure. This multi part bill has many beneficial effects. It updates several definitions and requirements regarding active mobility, especially trails. It also provides a method through which WSDOT can exempt itself from “complete streets” requirements on state facilities by investing in the “local system” when doing so can provide equal or better access for active mode users. In short, providing places for people to walk, bike, or roll on local streets or trails when doing so is a better solution for people using those modes. While FGT has some concerns about how such detours might affect less physically able travelers, we are supportive of the bill because it injects some common sense into complete streets requirements and could result in far more pleasant and potentially safer active mode facility networks.

FGT recently briefed the Foothills Board about how this bill might potentially enable development of a section of the trail past Carbonado instead of the state providing for active mode facilities on a new Fairfax bridge. We hope that this would result in a cost savings for WSDOT. We think it would result in a more pleasant route than SR 165 which lacks any shoulders at all. Investing in active mode facilities on the replacement bridge, which are not connected to similar facilities on either side, seems like an efficient use of money with little public benefit. We believe developing the Foothills Trail as a route alternative would be far superior. However, we are not qualified to fully vet this concept for its engineering feasibility (or cost). We will coordinate with Foothills regarding any conversations had with local or state officials about this idea.

FGT is also actively supporting Pierce County’s $400,000 funding request for the “Foothills Trail Crossing Safety Improvement.” This project would install a flashing beacon and crosswalk at the intersection of the Foothills Trail and Pioneer Way to increase trail user safety. This is one of the most requested safety improvements in our entire regional trail system. We know that it is a priority for Pierce County Parks regardless, but this is a good opportunity to try to get it funded, though competition is challenging. FGT and Foothills have been very closely coordinating about this and have contacted the local legislators (Reps. Jacobsen, Keaton, and Senator Gildon of the 25th District) to support this funding request.

Lastly, as a service to Foothills, FGT is supporting the scoping of a project to provide a safer pedestrian crossing of SR 410 south of Enumclaw to allow better access to/from the Foothills Trail in southeast King County. We are currently working with community advocates, local agency staff, and WSDOT on a potential grant application. Updates on this and all of the above items will follow in the next Foothills newsletter. Please direct any questions to info@forevergreentrails.org or call 360-357-3871.

For a complete list of FGT’s legislative priorities in a PDF document that includes direct links to individual bill pages, please see: https://bit.ly/4r4QlYu

By Dan Bucci, President, Foothills Coalition

Hello fellow members and trail supporters! This will be my final president’s letter to you all as we elected a new Executive Board at our February board meeting. We had a number of board members who were ready to take on leadership roles in the organization, and after serving three terms as board president it is time for me to step aside and turn the reins to new leadership. The four board members who are stepping in to fill our officer roles are all excellent choices and are ready to continue and improve upon all the great work the FTC is currently doing!

I wanted to take a few moments in my last letter to reflect on the last three and a half years, and how much growth the Coalition has seen in that time. Early in 2022, we had a significant departure of our leadership with both the sitting President and Vice President resigning from the board for personal reasons. This left the Coalition with an uncertain future and limited leadership. 

In the 40 year history of the organization, we had always been run solely by volunteers, with the Coalition president doing a significant amount of work to run the organization. In the wake of the resignations, we fortunately had a past board member, Bryan Bowden, step in and essentially serve as active President while he was the Secretary. Bryan, and a number of other board members recognized the Coalition was at a crossroads. All of the board members at the time recognized the amount of work the board president was doing at the time, and no one was ready to step into that role. Our recommendation was to transition the organization from all volunteer, and move towards a model which would enable us to grow and move forward. That model was to hire a full time Executive Director. We also recognized we needed to couple this with implementing a new Strategic Plan.

Throughout the summer of 2022, we began to search for our future Executive Director, and with a little luck we had attracted a passionate and capable candidate who we hired in the fall of 2022. I had mentioned to Bryan that if we hired a strong Executive Director, I would be willing to serve as board President (as the position was still vacant) as we wanted our Executive Director to work with a fully staffed Executive Board. So, in fall of 2022 I became board president and we hired our new director Shayla Miles. 

Shayla jumped right in and instantly contributed to the Coalition. She helped kick off and lead our strategic planning efforts, she quickly began fundraising efforts, and brought much needed system and organization to the Coalition. Shayla was also instrumental in successfully leading our first Capital Campaign to construct the Dr. Tait Pavilion in Buckley. Shayla served as Executive Director for nearly two years, and took a new position with the Boys and Girls Club in 2024. She helped lead the search for her replacement and we hired Breanna Fokes in October of 2024 and she has served as our Executive Director since. 

Bre has brought a wonderful energy to the Coalition along with great organizational skills and a strong marketing background. Bre has continued to drive the Coalition forward by building strong partnerships, engaging local communities and other non-profits, and continuing to drive our workplan consistent with our strategic plan. It’s safe to say our move to the Executive Director model has transformed our organization in four short years. I almost think we would have dissolved the Coalition had we not moved in that direction. 

In the last four years, I have also seen the Coalition drive some major milestones to completion, and help drive others forward. We have celebrated the opening of the White River Bridge (for which the Coalition heavily advocated and helped fund), worked with Pierce County to expedite the replacement of the failed Spiketon Ditch Bridge, fund and construct the Dr. Tait Pavilion in concert with the City of Buckley’s new trailhead, implement a very successful volunteer work party program (for which we just won an award from Pierce County), reestablish and strengthen partnerships with communities along the trail, Pierce County Parks, and other regional trail non-profits, help complete land acquisitions for trail right of ways, provide advocacy and input into local trail projects, host membership gatherings and events, and showcase the Foothills Trail and Pierce County in the ever popular Rainier to Ruston Relay. I know there is so much more I’m missing from this list, but this just highlights how much we have grown since adding an Executive Director!

With all this said, I’m so proud of what the Coalition has become over these last four years! I’m also proud to say that this is just the beginning. We are committed to continuing our work to make our vision of a continuous non-motorized trail connecting Mt. Rainier to Puget Sound. I’ve said it before in my past letters, but the place we get to call home is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The thought of a 50-60 mile trail spanning Pierce County and showing off towering Tahoma, the rainforests of Carbon River Canyon, the beautiful farms in our rural communities, our riverside cities in the Puyallup Valley, and the sparkling shores of the Puget Sound in Tacoma is all the justification we need to make this trail a reality. The Foothills Trail is a unique gem, and it has been my honor to play a small part in this organization to continue to make progress on bringing this trail into its full glory! I know our next executive board is equally committed to doing so as well. 

Thank you all for all that you do to support our vision, and our organization! It has been my pleasure to help lead this organization over the past four years!

-Dan

By Travis Curry, Regional Trails Planner, Pierce County Parks

The weather may be frosty, but trail work never ends! There’s a lot of exciting action in the Pierce County trails system.  

Foothills Trail Spiketon Ditch Bridge Ribbon Cutting 

Construction of the new bridge over Spiketon Ditch is finally complete! In June 2024, the original Spiketon Ditch Bridge was demolished due to extensive structural failure. The new bridge opened in September, re-establishing the full 24-mile route of the Foothills Trail from Puyallup to Enumclaw. Thank you to all who provided advocacy and input to kickstart this vital project.  

Foothills Trail Extension – Wilkeson to Carbonado Engagement 

Pierce County Parks, the Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition, the Action Mapping Project, and the National Parks Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program (NPS-RTCA) engaged with local communities and trail users over the summer to define public support of a trail extension between Wilkeson and Carbonado. The team launched a community survey to gather feedback on trail features and amenities. We are processing survey results and expect to publish a summary report this winter.  

The Wilkeson to Carbonado extension fits into a broader planning effort to extend the Foothills Trail from South Prairie to Mount Rainier National Park. Pierce County Parks will continue to evaluate routes between South Prairie and Wilkeson as funding allows.  

Parkland Community Trail  

Pierce County Parks broke ground on the Parkland Community Trail on September 27 at Sprinker Recreation Center. We expect to open the trail in 2026. 

The Parkland Community Trail will run 1.8 miles from Sprinker Recreation Center (Sprinker) to the north side of Tule Lake Road on the southern edge of the Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) Campus. Built in partnership with Pierce County’s Planning & Public Works Department, this project represents a new type of trail in unincorporated Pierce County. The trail will be built in the road right-of-way with a buffer from the street, offering a safe, accessible route for all users. The route aligns with the findings of Action Mapping Project’s youth engagement in the Parkland community and is the first phase of trail investments designed to enhance active transportation infrastructure in this dense, underserved neighborhood that has very few sidewalks or bike lanes.   

Phase 2 is in the planning stage and will connect the trail through PLU to Washington High School and Keithley Middle School, with more extensions under evaluation. For more details, visit: www.PierceCountyWA.gov/ParklandCommunityTrail.  

A calling to community service has driven Nicole Martineau throughout her life, and serving on  the Board of the Foothills Coalition has been one of her many destinations. As a lifelong Pierce County resident, Nicole has always gravitated toward leadership and service with early endeavors like serving as president of Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) in high school and organizing political forums while serving in the student government at Pierce College.

“I’ve always been service-minded,” she said. This is a theme that’s carried into her adult life and has included fundraising for muscular dystrophy to opening her home as a foster parent. “I think I’m drawn into these types of causes and organizations because I just like helping people.”

She was formally introduced to our local trails network in 2010 while serving on the Puyallup City Council, when she started attending Friends of the Puyallup Riverwalk meetings.

“I met the group which included people like Ernie Bay, Dixie Gatchel, and Bob and Diane Kastama and they reeled me right in with their passion and enthusiasm. They actually convinced me to walk the Riverwalk Trail dressed in a broccoli costume during a Families in Motion event,” she said.

There was crossover between the Friends of the Riverwalk Trail and the Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition, so naturally, Nicole’s relationship with the Friends eventually led her to the Foothills Coalition – an organization her dad, Bill Hilton, had already found a footing in.

Over the years, she has found a place not only among the great people involved in the Coalition, but in contributing to the policy, structure, and governance that has helped the organization thrive, especially in recent years. 

“The Coalition really started as this grassroots organization led by people who loved trails, but now it’s a structured, formal group with many stakeholders and important community relationships,” she said. “It’s important that we follow the solid structure and procedures we now have in place to sustain ourselves as an organization, keep growing, and moving toward the future the founders had envisioned when they started the group.”

While being a vital part of the Foothills Coalition, Nicole also serves at the President of Arts Downtown, where her second-in-command is fellow Foothills Board Member, John Hopkins.  The two work to bring the organizations together during the annual All Along the Riverwalk Festival in Puyallup, an important public event for both organizations to attract people to the Puyallup Riverwalk Trail and give local artists exposure in a beautiful setting.

“My goal of being on the Foothills board is seeing the legacy continue,” she said. “There’s a wide range of experience on the board and each member brings something valuable to the table. Together, we create a huge network that has helped us be successful, and working together will help us pursue our mission and continue the legacy for generations to come.”

Nicole lives near the trail in Puyallup and enjoys walking it with her family, including her husband, Jeff, a Sergeant for the Gig Harbor Police Department, and daughter Bella Rose, who volunteers with the Foothills Coalition. The family are also park lovers, with trips to National Parks among their favorite getaways.

Featured in photo: Nicole Martineau with husband Jeff, and daughter, Bella Rose