Monterey Bay >> A public pathway that would stretch from the sands of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to the steppes of the Fort Ord National Monument is on the verge of taking a major stride toward realizing a dream touted by local trail afficionados for years.

The proposed Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway is a 24-mile, 12-foot-wide biking and walking trail with an open space buffer running in two giant loops from Del Rey Oaks to Marina, through the former military base. It is poised to start environmental review as soon as this summer with the Transportation Agency for Monterey Country as lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act.

On Wednesday, the TAMC board is set to consider beginning the search for an environmental review and project development consultant for the much-anticipated proposal, also known as FORTAG, by approving issuance of a request for proposals. TAMC was designated lead agency last fall.

The $1 million scope of work, funded by state and local money and slated to start after a consultant is selected in late June, would include environmental review, and engineering and design work. Optional tasks include the creation of an infographic report of project benefits and impacts, and visual simulations of trail segments, as well as grant writing and technical analysis assistance. The work is expected to be complete by the end of next year.

CSU Monterey Bay professors Fred Watson and Scott Waltz, who have devoted more than four years to the endeavor, said environmental review represents a key step for the $40 million proposal blessed by voters with $20 million in sales tax revenue through approval of Measure X in 2016.

“It’s a huge milestone for us and the project and the region,” Watson said. “It’s really the first time (the project has) been formally opened up for public scrutiny, and we welcome that.”

“We want this to be a community asset,” Waltz said, noting the extensive public outreach effort in support of the project over the past several years. “We’ve paved a good path but this is really turning into theirs now.”

TAMC deputy director Todd Muck said the start of environmental review is a “big first step” for the project, which he noted had largely relied on the “grassroots effort” led by Watson and Waltz to be in position to move into the review process quicker.

Muck said completion of the EIR will be a central factor in helping raise the remaining funding for the project. The Measure X allocation helped secure the funding for the environmental review and design work through the state Senate Bill 1 local partnership program and the local Transportation Development Act 2 percent program (for biking and walking trails), he said. And the project has already begun competing for state and federal funding including a federal lands access program grant and a state active transportation grant for which the proposal compiled a strong case but came up just short, he said.

Waltz said the project will also seek Fort Ord developer funding through local cities and have already been presenting the proposal as a walkable, sustainable community benefit for both commercial and residential development.

“That’s our pitch, the trail is an amenity,” he said, noting that a few developers have already expressed support.

The pathway designed to connect everything from the existing Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail and CSUMB to the current and future education, employment, community and recreation centers both on the former military base and on the greater Monterey Peninsula is still being integrated into area planning efforts, including TAMC’s Highway 218 (Canyon Del Rey Boulevard) study, the city of Seaside’s general plan and the Fort Ord Reuse Authority’s review of South Boundary Road access.

After years of promoting the proposal, Waltz said the pathway is as popular as ever because it is designed for everyone including families with young children on bikes and in strollers, joggers, commuter and recreational cyclists, walkers and wheelchair users and linking them from the bay to the back country and from development to oak woodland and open space.

“Everybody likes this,” he said. “It’s inherently a good idea. This is one more step toward making this a reality.”

Jim Johnson can be reached at 831-726-4348.