South Florida State Park Seeks Million Dollar Upgrade
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) – A proposed million dollar revamp aims to boost safety at a popular South Florida Park.
A short walk from Ft. Lauderdale shops, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is 175-acres of tropical green space. The plan, proposed by the state's Department of Environmental Protection, hopes to lure more visitors with an elongated pedestrian trail, another entrance and the park would be added as a stop for water taxis.
The high-priced tweak includes converting the park's dirt path, and unused train track, into a 2-mile, 10-foot wide, pedestrian-only trail. The trail would not only make a safer route for visitors away from traffic, it would also connect the park to the city making a foot-path along the beach, according to the Sun Sentinel.
The proposal also calls for a bridge over the park's lake, a new water taxi stop and permanently opening the entrance to the north along with expanding the entrances on Sunrise Boulevard and the beach.
Talks of renovating Birch Park have been discussed by the state for a couple of years, but to pay for the million dollar upgrade, officials must apply for federal highway grant money allotted to non-traditional projects. The grant money is given out once a year. The Birch State Park project is in competition with other city plans including landscaped medians on Las Olas Boulevard.
City commissioners are set to discuss the plans Tuesday and a decision must be made by March.
Source: The Sun Sentinel
