WALK the WALKWAY Northern Edgewater November 7, 2010 On Sunday, Ed, Bill, Howard, Don and Susan and Nick Ingold, spent 2 1/2 hours hiking the mostly future "Walkway" in the north end of Edgewater. We met at 9:45 AM sharp at the Edgewater Ferry parking lot and drove up to the Colony. The first thing we saw was a Walkway sign denoting Annett Ave as the Walkway. It turns out there is also a Walkway sign at the corner of River Road and Annett Ave. I assume that this alignment of the Walkway is part of some agreement with the DEP. We decided to walk South on Shore Road. There are two or three Mc Mansions under construction on south Shore Road. The one that is the most advanced in construction is cantilevered over the water prompting Bill to wonder how the DEP could ever have approved it. At the south end of Shore Road is the obvious place for the Walkway to connect coming from the south. Next we went North on Shore Road past some magnificent homes along the water. At the north end of Shore Road we connected with the stone path and stairs that lead down to the Palisades Park Waterfront Path that leads under the GW Bridge to Ross Dock. Howard suggested that we ask the Palisades Interstate Park to put our official Walkway signs on the waterfront pathway from Edgewater to the GW Bridge to complete the Waterfront Walkway to the George Washington Bridge. We also noted that the Palisades path had been recently improved and was well maintained. We then reversed our track and headed back down Annett Ave and River Road to Washington Ave. While it is clearly possible to build a full segment of the Walkway along the East side of River Road, this would totally defeat the concept of citizen access to the Waterfront. We walked down Washington Ave and at the bottom, we went down to the Watrefront and examined the likely route of the Walkway when the adjacent commercial marina to the south of the Colony is developed. Next we toured the Vela Condominiums who to have a dedicated parking spot for the Walkway but have not added the trash cans that they promised. The North end of the Vela Walkway ends at the property line of the adjacent marina to the north. On the South end of the Vela property, the fence connecting to Von Dohln marina has not been opened. We have been told that Vela will do so when the Walkway is connected to the Moorings on the south side of Von Dohln so that walkers, especially kids, have some place to go rather than being dumped into the marina property, which is very busy in the summer, with no place to go. Next, we climbed the fence between Vela and Von Dohln. The Von Dohln pavement was marked to show the Walkway and the path was clear of boats, docks and equipment. After Von Dohln, we entered the Moorings property at the Waterfront where the Walkway is under construction. At the south end of the Moorings, the grading for the Walkway continues into the Le Jardin property that is under litigation. Hudson Cove is a condo complex. It seems to have built a fully complying Walkway including a perpendicular access from River Road. Unfortunately, while the Walkway seems compliant, Hudson Cove has allowed a large hedge to grow to over 8 feet between the Walkway and the water so that anyone walking on the Walkway has no view of anything except the bushes. Hudson Cove leads to Shelter Bay where the Walkway was less well maintained. It also is much older than Hudson Cove. Next came Veterans Park and we wondered if Edgewater will ever renovate the Park and build their section of the Walkway. We returned to River Road and our cars after walking past 1111 River Road and Admiral’s Walk, neither with Walkways as they are grandfathered.