Westminster has received a $108,000 state grant that will cover half the cost of a segment of a planned 2 1/2 -mile hiking and biking trail on the city's western side.

The trail will be dedicated to the memory of Terence Burk, a Westminster candy-store owner who was struck by a car and killed while jogging along Route 97 in August 1995.

A memorial fund established in his name will finance part of the trail.

The state grant, approved last week by Gov. Parris N. Glendening, will be used to build a 1-mile segment of the trail from Long Valley Road to Tahoma Farm Road.

Westminster has budgeted about $108,000 toward the $217,000 cost of the segment.

Bids for the section will be sought this winter. Construction is expected to begin in spring "so we can at least have that phase finished by next summer," city planner Katrina L. Tucker said. She said it will take three years to complete the trail.

The trail will be an 8-foot-wide asphalt path through meadows, woods, marshland and streams. It will be accessible to disabled people, with switchbacks to make it easier for wheelchair users to descend slopes.

The trail, to be developed in phases, will eventually extend from Long Valley Road north to Windsor Drive and south to Congressional Drive. A final phase from Windsor Drive to Uniontown Road is to be completed by the developer of a subdivision.

Pub Date: 10/26/98