New guardrails were installed along a five-block stretch of Ocean View Drive in Yachats this week and many of the 150 markers separating the 804 Trail from the street have been placed by Lincoln County road crews.
After installing the 3-foot-high markers – called delineators – on the north and middle portion of the street Wednesday, the county ran out of them and plan to return next week to finish installing all the way to Yachats State Park.
People using the path Thursday said they appreciated the clearer separation between cars and walkers.
Once the delineators are finished and directional markers put in the one-lane road, all that is left before the county turns the street over to the city of Yachats is filing paperwork settling some easement issues. The guardrail project cost the county $40,195. County public works director Roy Kinion said he hopes the transfer can be completed by the end of the year.
The county is transferring many of its roads entirely inside various cities to those jurisdictions. The transfer of Ocean View Drive to Yachats has taken years and more recently involved the city making the road one-way southbound between West Seventh and the north entrance to Yachats State Park. That allowed creation of an eight-foot wide walking path that is part of the 804/Oregon Coast Trail.
The city’s Parks & Commons Commission is also working on plans to recommend the city create two small “pocket” parks on the west side of the trail overlooking the ocean. With the delineators in place, access to those areas by vehicles – which used to park in gravel areas along the cliff – is not possible.
