Sunday, November 3, 2024

Here’s what’s next for Hampton’s newest two-and-a-half-mile ‘linear park’

Waterwalk at Central Park is expected to be finished by the end of the year. (WY Daily/Courtesy City of Hampton)
Waterwalk at Central Park is expected to be finished by the end of the year. (WY Daily/Courtesy City of Hampton)

More than a year after its grand opening and ribbon cutting, the Waterwalk at Central Park in Hampton is nearing completion.

Robin McCormick, a spokeswoman for the city of Hampton, said the finishing touches on the $5.4 million linear park’s lighting and landscaping would be completed by the end of the year to finish the two-and-a-half-mile trail.

The trail’s completion will be followed by other extra amenities starting next spring.

“The Coliseum Central Business Improvement District has contributed $109,735.38 for bike racks, garbage bins, dog waste stations, and benches…We are also working on signage, which will be completed in mid-to-late 2020,” she said.

Hampton city officials unveiled opposite ends of the park at Air Power Park and the Power Plant shopping area in May 2018 as a means for park and water access in Coliseum Central, which McCormick said is the “busiest commercial part of town.”

“The trail gives an opportunity for the public to wander through wetlands and the natural setting in the midst of the city, and it requires no personal watercraft,” she said.

Waterwalk at Central Park is expected to be finished by the end of the year. (WY Daily/Courtesy City of Hampton)
Waterwalk at Central Park is expected to be finished by the end of the year. (WY Daily/Courtesy City of Hampton)

RELATED STORY: A new Hampton park will officially open this week

McCormick also said the structure serves multiple audiences with access at Coliseum Drive for shoppers, and an observation deck behind Air Power Park for those wanting to quietly take-in the natural wildlife.

While the trail isn’t expected to be finished until the end of the year, McCormick said visitors have already been making good use of the park.

“We had a counter installed for a time this summer, and the portion behind Air Power Park was drawing an average of about 100 people a day — and that’s before the connecting parts were finished,” she said.

For more information about Waterwalk at Central Park, click here. 

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