By Staff
More boat ramps and mooring fields among suggestions
By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
Washington should improve its existing water-access facilities and acquire new water-access facilities, according to the draft of the city’s proposed parks and recreation master plan.
The proposed plan, under review by the City Council and city officials, was prepared by Hayes, Seay, Mattern and Mattern, a consulting firm.
The plan recommends the city aggressively seek additional water-access facilities within the city. It also recommends the city increase the number of such facilities and the variety of them. Those facilities should include launches for deep-water vessels beach-access areas and launches for kayaks and canoes, the plan notes. The beach-access areas should include fishing piers, areas for beach volleyball, sitting areas and picnic facilities, the draft concludes.
City officials have said the proposed Tar River Nature Park would help increase access to the water by the public. To that end, the council has decided to get the help from the Planning Board, Washington Recreation Advisory Committee, Washington Tourism Development Authority and Downtown Washington on the Waterfront in planning the park. The council also wants the public to have a say in the park’s development.
The proposed Tar River Nature Park contains about 276 acres, mostly wetlands.
The overall project, which will provide shoreline access to the public, calls for a building that would have restrooms, an area for exhibits and an area that would be used to store rental kayaks and provide office space. In addition to a fishing pier and picnic facilities, proposed improvements to the land include a wooden bulkhead, boat ramp, gazebo, restrooms, shoreline walkway, parking area, lighting and trash receptacles.
The project may have to be built in phases as money for it becomes available, city officials have said.
The draft includes comments taken from the 102 people who returned surveys concerning the city’s parks and recreation facilities and needs.
The draft also calls for expansion of the existing boat ramp at Havens Gardens or adding a second boat ramp there. It also calls for a new shelter at Havens Gardens, a park that’s heavily used by city residents and others.
The draft also urges the city to continue efforts to establish mooring fields in the Pamlico River off Washington’s waterfront. The plan also recommends the city build additional docks for transient boaters to replace the existing temporary facilities at the waterfront, with those facilities including restrooms and showers for boaters, a ship’s store, dock master’s office, laundry facilities and storage.
A draft harbor-management plan is under review by a panel.
Washington’s new land-use plan, required by the Coastal Area Management Act, calls for the city to develop a harbor-management plan and a water-use plan. The land-use plan also calls for the city to establish mooring fields in some of the city’s waterways.
At the council’s recent planning session, council members discussed the importance of replacing the temporary restrooms at the west end of Stewart Parkway. Those facilities have been at the location for five years. Some of the restrooms are open to the public. Other restrooms and showers are open only to boaters who are using city docks.
At that planning session, Jennings said the only question left for the city to answer is where the permanent restrooms should go.
The council learned the representatives from the city’s planning and parks-and-recreation departments, downtown merchants’ group and Downtown Washington on the Waterfront have been working to identify possible sites for the permanent restrooms. Councilman Gil Davis was assigned to oversee the restroom project.