After three days of hearing last week, the Missing Link trial will continue and wrap up the testimonies today.

At the annual Friends of the Burke Gilman Trail meeting last week, attorney Jeff Eustis, who's working on behalf of the Cascade Bicycle Club in the Missing Link appeal, gave the group an update of what's happening inside court rooms.

The "Missing Link" section of the Burke Gilman trail refers to the area where the trail ends at Ballard's Fred Meyer and people are left to find their own route to the Chittenden Locks where the trail picks up again.

In February, SDOT completed additional environmental review of the Burke-Gilman Trail Extension to include a trail alignment along Shilshole Avenue NW, between 17th Avenue NW and NW Vernon Place. SDOT determined that the project will not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment.

This decision was made after review of the project's potential impacts on several elements of the environment, including geology, endangered species, cultural resources, hazardous materials, transportation, and parking.

The Ballard Chamber of Commerce, principally Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel, appealed this decision to further halt a trail from being build, stating concerns of safety and losing parking spaces.

"The Chamber tries to champion for both type of businesses - retail and the industrial businesses along Shilshole Ave," said Beth Miller from the Ballard Chamber of Commerce.

"This trail creates a safety hazard and liability issue for the industrial businesses and there's a loss of a significant amount of parking."

Eustis said the fundament question before the Hearing Examiner is whether the proposal creates a significant adverse impact to this environment.

The problem, Eustis said, is that "a significant adverse impact" doesn't have a real definition. It could be defined by accidents happening or how businesses are impaired by delays or limited parking.

"But restaurants on Ballard Ave have increased from eight to 28 in recent years so a lack of parking has had very little impact on the restaurant business," Eustis said.

The Ballard portion of the Burke Gilman Trail has been in limbo since the 1990s despite the fact that funding is in place and designs have been approved by the city under the last three mayors.

"The money is in the bank and the plan is designed. My understanding is that it's just up to legalities and there's not much we can do to make this move forward," said Kevin Carrabine, President of the Friends of the Burke Gilman Trail.

Chuck Ayers is scheduled to testify today and Eustis said the Hearing Examiner hopes to wrap up the testimonies and issue a decision in two weeks.

If the Hearing Examiner gives the trail a pass, the project will go back to Judge Jim Rogers of King County Superior Court, whose decision last year forced the city to complete the study. If Judge Rogers gives it a pass, the group could appeal to Washington Appellate Court.