Members of the Trails Advisory Committee and representatives of the local horsemen’s group described a deteriorated bypass on the Piedmont–Waterline section of the Olympic Discovery Trail and urged the county to remove or formally decommission the unsafe bypass so horses and cyclists can use the same, maintained route.

Jennifer Riedel, who identified herself as “horsemen at large,” told the committee the separated horse route at Piedmont Road has not been maintained for about 10 years and contains gopher holes and soft tread that make it unsafe for horses. Riedel said horses have begun using the bikeway because it is safer, and she asked permission to continue routing horses onto the bike trail. Committee members and other participants agreed the bypass currently is unsafe for horses, pedestrians and bicyclists.

Committee members said reopening and maintaining the bypass would require additional volunteer or staff work. Committee staff suggested that it may be operationally easier to maintain the single existing trail and fix occasional horse “holes” than to restore and sustain the older bypass. The committee asked staff to prepare a report assessing maintenance needs, volunteer capacity and any signage changes required to reflect consolidated use. Members also recommended outreach to bicycling groups (Peninsula Trails Coalition, Olympic Bicycle) to surface any objections before formal changes are made.

No formal motion to change trail designations or funding allocations was passed at the meeting. The committee discussed removing obsolete mapped signs if the bypass is decommissioned and noted that map updates would be needed.