Rudee-Oceanfront trail officially dedicated

VIRGINIA BEACH

Access to what city officials call the South Beach Marina District has reached a new level.

The South Beach Trail Boardwalk gives walkers, runners and bicycle riders their own elevated path to and from the resort area and completes an 8-mile loop that has been years in the making.

"It's a critical link to the multipurpose trail and the Rudee Inlet Bridge," said Jason E. Cosby, director of the city's Public Works Department. He addressed a crowd of nearly 100 people at a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 1.

Cosby credited former U.S. Sen. John Warner for his work to secure a federal grant in 2002 for bike trails in the resort area. "His assistance was a major factor in getting us where we are today."

The South Beach Trail Boardwalk, formerly known as the Pacific Avenue Trail Project, extends from the corner of Norfolk and Pacific avenues to the corner of Winston-Salem Avenue and 5th Street.

Earley Marine Inc. constructed the 1,400-foot, lighted boardwalk, which extends over Lake Holly alongside Pacific Avenue. A gazebo halfway down the structure provides shade and a scenic overlook. The project cost $1.1 million, nearly $800,000 coming from the federal grant.

South Beach Trail Board-walk connects the Oceanfront with several stops, including Rudee Inlet and the South Beach Marina District, Virginia Aquarium on General Booth Boulevard and Seatack Recreation Center on Birdneck Road, among others.

Bruce Drees, chairman of the Bikeways & Trails Advisory Committee, attended the ribbon cutting and spoke to the audience about how the trail will offer an alternative means of travel in the traffic-congested resort area.

Safe routes for bicyclists and walkers are needed, Drees said. "This facility will encourage more of that."

Citizen input was considered in the plan for the trail, and civic leagues were asked to give feedback.

At the ceremony, Mayor Will Sessoms, City Councilman John E. Uhrin, Cosby and Drees cut the ribbon. Several guests on bicycles began pedaling down the trail toward the gazebo.

"We've got something here that we can all take great pride in," Sessoms said. "Go home and put on your running shoes and enjoy this."

Stacy Parker, stacyparker@cox.net