PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles’ waterfront will begin to be transformed next year as the city begins work on sprucing up the downtown shoreline.
Construction of an esplanade, which is part of the city’s Waterfront and Transportation Improvement Plan, is planned to begin this summer.
Located west of the ferry terminal, the esplanade will step down from Railroad Avenue over the water. That will bring people much closer to the water, which is now bordered by riprap.
Generally, an esplanade is an open area, often with a public walkway along a shore.
In Port Angeles, it will include seating, trees and windbreaks.
It is the first step toward the city’s goal of transforming the waterfront into a pedestrian-friendly environment.
Construction will begin in July and is expected to be done by November, said Roberta Korcz, city assistant planner.
“One of the highlights of Port Angeles is that it’s a waterfront community,” she said. “This is really going to . . . help draw people to the west end of downtown.”
Construction of the esplanade — and various improvements to the west end of Railroad Avenue expected to go with it — is anticipated to cost about $3.3 million.
The city is budgeting $3.5 million for the waterfront plan next year, most of it coming from the economic development fund.
The overall Waterfront and Transportation Improvement Plan will include a new park, expansion of Hollywood Beach and various landscape and
street improvements.
The estimated cost is $17 million.
The city has said it needs grant funding to complete much of it.
Installation of new way-finding sings, also part of the project, will likely happen in the first half of next year, Korcz said.
A new entryway monument that had been envisioned on the west side of the city is on the “back burner” for now, she said.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.