THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 30, 1995 TAG: 9506290230
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Yet another study of Portsmouth's waterfront potential, known this time as the Shoreline Access Plan, has pinpointed areas around Crawford Bay and Scotts Creek for enhancement of the city's connection with the water.
In a report presented at a joint session of City Council and the Planning Commission, Barry Starke of Earth Design Associates listed Crawford Bay, the end of Elm Avenue, Leckie Street Bridge, a West Norfolk site on Lake Kingman, the west side of Churchland Bridge and the bridge crossing at Paradise Creek on Victory Boulevard as the places with the best possibilities. Three will be chosen for further study and conceptual design.
Since Crawford Bay and the two sites on Scotts Creek are in the Vision 2005 planning areas, it would be logical to start with them.
As already proposed by others, this study also suggested creation of a major passive park and a small boat activity area along Crawford Parkway by closing two lanes of the street and also by a stepped expansion of the Seawall.
Since Crawford Bay is a main anchorage for passing boats, the study suggested, dinghy docks and shuttle services to and from anchored boats could attract more visitors to the city from the boats.
Ever since Councilman Cameron Pitts began talking about the dinghy dock, I've thought it was an excellent way for us to lure passing boaters to our shores. Shuttle services would be even better.
Portsmouth must increase its visibility and that seems like a good way to begin. As I have said before, and probably will say again, Elizabeth City frequently is the subject of magazine articles because of its popularity with boaters. And the stories are not limited to boating publications but find their way into slick magazines.
Recently a long piece in a boating magazine recounted a boater's experiences going down the Dismal Swamp Canal and staying a couple of days in Elizabeth City. The writer mentioned spending the night in Norfolk, docked at Hospital Point. We need to change that notion, letting people know that when they're at Crawford Bay, they're in Portsmouth.
The proposal to connect the city with the water at the bay would accomplish that.
Meanwhile, moving on to the consultant's number two and number three listings, Starke noted that the city in fact owns Elm Avenue into the creek and that the city also owns some other parcels of land in the area. He suggested a public-private partnership to develop a marina and water access and a fish market/restaurant on the old Russell Crab House property.
The development, he said, not only would provide recreational access but also would prod community revitalization on that end of Park View. He's saying what our neighborhoods have been saying for a decade and what every other consultant who has ever been to town has said over the past 10 years. Yet, the city has done nothing even though in this case it's in the control because it owns the land around the private parcels. Instead, the city has allowed the blocks of Park View closest to the water to deteriorate, almost to a point of no return.
Another suggestion by the consultants is not going to sit well with some of the folks in Shea Terrace, who want the Leckie Street Bridge destroyed.
The consultants came down on the side of Park View and West Park View residents who want to keep the bridge intact until there is a possibility of dredging the creek up to London Boulevard.
I'm one of them, convinced by my jogging and cycling neighbors who use the bridge.
``Just walking out on the water is a significant opportunity in itself,'' the consultants wrote.
As an alternative, they suggested taking out the middle section and attaching floating docks to provide neighborhood ``walk to'' boat slips.
Mainly, they see the bridge as an asset to give residents a place to fish, walk and ride bicycles. In addition, the report said, the area has great potential for a nature study area.
Before the city spends money taking out the bridge, maybe they better consult with their consultants.
The Shoreline Access Plan is an interesting documentation of some of the major possibilities from Hoffler Creek on the western border to Paradise Creek in Cradock. We need to keep it off the shelf and in active hands at City Hall. by CNB