Seaford to get ORPT grant to fix railings, sidewalk and Oyster House master plan
SEAFORD, Del. – The City of Seaford has some growing attractions.
Officials say to keep everyone safe, they need some new tools, especially on the water. Seaford Riverwalk Pier is set to get a facelift. “ORPT Grant which is for outdoor recreation areas to put up handrails downtown along the river an extension on the sidewalk out of the sports complex,” Mayor David Genshaw explains.
Following the city’s request of $51,000, Seaford City officials say this is to help with safety along the water. “So we’re going to take the railing that you see on the boardwalk and we’re going to continue that on the fishing pier, again for safety reasons to keep people a little bit safer and not falling into the river those sort of things. As folks have begun to use the area more and we added the Oyster House park and the boardwalk, its much more used which is great and exactly what we’re looking for. So we want to try to add safety features but we also want to add that connectivity” said Trisha Newcomer with the City of Seaford.
Newcomer says the pier is drawing more people in and some of those visitors include fishers. With more activity on the Riverwalk, the city wants the railings to be accessible for that fresh catch. “It’s used pretty heavily as a fishing pier so it might not be as high as what you would anticipate on the boardwalk just because of the nature of fishing. A lot of times they like the rail, you can see that on the boardwalk too sometimes the rails are depressed just a little bit lower because of the fishing rods,” Newcomer explains.
Not only do new railings mean safer Seaford areas, but they will also support the growing city of Seaford. “Those people can come out – enjoy it. There’s a lot of folks that live right here in our community that don’t actually get to enjoy the Nanticoke River, it’s such a gem and we want to make sure everyone has an opportunity at whatever level they’re comfortable,” Newcomer added.
The decking on the pier has also been upgraded to match the Oyster House. And the rest of the funding will also support revisions to the Oyster House Master plan.
