Friends of Hunting Island looks to improve trail system
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If all goes to plan, outdoor enthusiasts might find their Sunday strolls on Hunting Island more comfy and less crowded.
Friends of Hunting Island, a local, nonprofit, is working with the state park to win a $100,000 federal grant to expand two island trails and make them more pedestrian friendly, said Bonnie Wright, president of the organization. The money would match $111,000 the Beaufort County Council gave Friends of Hunting Island in December to make the improvements.
The lagoon recreational trail and the boardwalk crossing trail, together about 2.7 miles, are essentially dirt trails occasionally littered with tree bark, pesky roots and other obstacles that can make a stroll less pleasant -- and impossible for disabled people, particularly those in wheelchairs, said Jim Atkins, the park manager.
With the County Council and federal government money, the two trails would be widened and covered with a hard, compact shell sand that wouldn't be impervious like asphalt or concrete, he said. If the trails run through trouble spots such as muddy, low-lying areas the trails might also be re-directed in parts. They would be widened by 6 feet to accommodate pedestrians or cyclists more comfortably, and would include new benches and buffers of natural vegetation. The changes would also make the trails compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.
"It makes it easier for wheels to roll on, feet to walk on," Atkins said. "We just think it'd be a great improvement to the trail system."
Friends of Hunting Island expects to find out whether it won the grant sometime this summer, Wright said. If the group wins the grant, work would have to start after October for federal budgeting reasons, Atkins said.
If the group doesn't win the grant, work on the trails would likely need to be scaled back, Wright said. The boardwalk trail might go untouched, and extras, such as benches, might be removed from the lagoon trail project, she said.
The 5,000 acres of Hunting Island include about 8 miles of trail, and other trails would be left alone for walkers who prefer the smaller, more natural trails, Atkins said.
About 700 families belong to Friends of Hunting Island, Wright said.