The River Walk Trail
Posted on August 22, 2012
The Blue Water Area is known for stunning views of the water, and the Community Foundation is dedicated to making sure members of our community, as well as visitors have access to the riverfront. By this time next year a critical component of the Blue Water River Walk will be finished and open to the public. A multi-purpose pedestrian trail, ten-feet wide and constructed of asphalt, will be built early next summer and extend south from the current sidewalk in front of the Great Lakes Maritime Center all the way to the Military Street Underpass on the south side of Desmond Landing.
The Blue Water River Walk Trail will connect St. Clair County’s Bridge to Bay Trail, which already extends from Algonac to Lakeport and help complete this 54 mile paved path. Like other sections of the Bridge to Bay, the River Walk Trail will, in some areas, be within reach of the water’s edge.
The trail is possible in part because of a $50,000 investment by First Preferred Mortgage Company/Michigan Mutual, Inc. that will help insure our ability to take advantage of a $211,000 Conditional Commitment Grant through the Transportation Enhancement Grant Program of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). The MDOT funding is conditional and contingent upon several factors, including our ability to raise $200,000 in local funding.
First Preferred has been joined by a number of other significant donors (see the list below), and to date the Blue Water River Walk Trail Campaign has raised almost $150,000 of the $200,000 needed. This trail is just one component of the Blue Water River Walk, and the River Walk is just one component of our region’s future, but it’s a future that looks a little more promising today.
Making a gift toward this challenge grant means you will be part of one of the largest, most public projects in the Community Foundation’s history. There are significant opportunities for public recognition of these gifts at the $5,000 level and above and gifts can be pledged over a period up to 3 years.
Learn more about the Blue Water River Walk
Get more information on the Blue Water Land Fund
Thank you to our major donors:
Active Lounge, Inc.
Lynn Alexander
Bethany Belanger
Blue Water Sierra Club
David & Denise Brooks
Henry & Joan Bryan
Thomas & Susan DeFauw
Katherine Duffy
E&A Credit Union
First Preferred/Michigan Mutual
Don & Bonnie Fletcher
Robert Funk
Lee & Janet Hanson
Kenneth & Linda Harris
Huron Automatic Screw Company
Gerry Kramer & Family
Chris & Joanne Kurzweil
Geof & Jenifer Kusch
Phyllis Ledyard
Randy & Bev Maiers
Franklin & Nancy Moore
Fred Moore Donor Advised Fund
Fred & Lezlynne Moore Donor Advised Fund
Dr. & Mrs. Bassam Nasr
Donna Niester
B. Scott Nill
Jonathon Phelan
Drs. Ramesh & Sushma Reddy
River District Fund
Dr. Randa Jundi-Samman & Dr. Bashar Samman
Ryan Sharrow
James & Judith Stewart
St. Clair County Parks and Recreation
Frank Tranzow
Elizabeth Visger
Goal: $200,000
Total Raised: $181,000
