A section of Marina Way, that little loop road on the Eureka waterfront, has been closed by the City, and officials are considering making the closure permanent.

A Facebooker posted the above photo this morning with a note of outrage:

Like many things on the Internet, this has a kernel of truth and a generous portion of dramatic embellishment. (No sign of armed militants just yet.) The City’s public works director, Bruce Young, explained that, yes, a small portion of the road has been closed off. Local businessman Dave Schneider owns property on both sides of this little elbow in the road, including Pacific Affiliates and his own private dock on one side and a log staging area on the other. He’s currently in the midst of a project that involves moving logs across Marina Way.

“For safety purposes we felt it was appropriate to close the road,” Young said, adding that the closure is currently listed as temporary. “But there’s some thought about whether this would be permanent,” he said.

If you’re not familiar with Marina Way, here’s a satellite view courtesy of Google:

That little blue-roofed structure in the upper-right corner is the Wharfinger Building. The little dock (Dock E) belongs to the City. And the patch of green in the lower-right is a little sliver of the controversial (and still vacant) Balloon Track property. 

The section of Marina Way that’s currently closed extends from the elbow on the left side of the image (roughly where the public parking spots facing the Bay come to an end) to the southern intersection with Waterfront Drive. So, if you’re so inclined, you can still get to the Wharfinger Building, the dock and all the public parking spaces. You just can’t make a full loop back to Waterfront Drive.

Young said this specific section of public right-of-way is an old easement that predates the construction of Marina Way. Previous City Councils felt it would be appropriate to close this length of road, he said, “but now with a different City Council we want to make sure it would be appropriate.”

Will the public have a chance to weigh in?

“I certainly believe so,” Young said. “I think they’re trying to determine what the process is to move forward.”

What about the Eureka Waterfront Trail, you ask? Well, it’s currently slated to run along Waterfront Drive, so the closure wouldn’t interfere. The dotted yellow line below represents the proposed trail path:

Image taken from the June 2014 Humboldt Bay Trail Project Update (pdf), which is well-worth a read.

We reached out to Schneider for comment but have yet to hear back.

So, what say you, Eurekans? Would closing this section of road represent a gift from the public to a private businessman? Or, if Schneider and his employees are the main ones using this stretch, should he be the one paying to maintain it? Weigh in below. If we’re lucky it will be good practice for a public hearing.