EVERETT — It’s now a little easier to stroll along Everett’s waterfront.
The Port of Everett has completed the final stretch of a 4-mile path it’s dubbed the Port Gardner Waterfront Loop.
The trail wends through the port between 10th and 18th streets. The latest section, nearly three- quarters of a mile long, connects the trail near the Yacht Club on 14th Street to the 12th Street Marina guest moorage area.
The Port invested $30,000 in this temporary asphalt connection to create a continuous walkway throughout the marina.
The trail was planned as part of the Port Gardener Wharf project, a development that was supposed to include a mix of homes, shops, restaurants, parks and a public promenade around the perimeter.
The project is now on hold after Maritime Trust of Chicago, the port’s private business partner in the project, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
The Port wanted to offer some type of public access, even if the promenade couldn’t be built now, said Lisa Mandt, spokeswoman for the Port.
“This is something the community has wanted for a long time,” she said. “It doesn’t look like the rest of the trail system, but it’s functional and serves its purpose.”
The future of the project isn’t clear but if it proceeds, the trail would be widened and the asphalt replaced with a better surface, she said.
The Port, with help from the city, also is improving the walkway along a five-block stretch of W. Marine View Drive. Workers are building a 12-foot-wide combined pedestrian walkway and bike path between 11th and 16th streets.
The $1.9 million project is paid for by federal stimulus money.
If the Port Gardner Waterfront loop doesn’t provide enough of a walk, the port also offers a trail that runs from Terminal Avenue to Pigeon Creek.
Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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