Two and a half miles of trail system included in Coastal Gateway Park's phase one

Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – During phase one of the Coastal Gateway Park, plans call for getting two components of the park built in that initial work at a cost of about $17 million.

“Since some of the main programs and elements that we are going to be including one phase one are the outdoor aquatics program,” Ryan Collins with DixHite & Partners told the city council at the Sept. 18th work session. “We are going to be able to deliver a competition pool, covered seating and restroom building, concessions, a signature splash pad and pavilion.”

Collins said the master plan calls for having amenities in place as soon as that phase is completed. His plan was presented during a work session on Sept. 18 and will likely be voted on during the regular session on Sept. 25.

“That will become a very strong element program for the park,” Collins said. “It can have daily uses as well as event use and special events. It will be paired with some parking that will overlap where the future central parking area will be. We anticipate that this is going to be a highly desirable part of the park and get a lot of daily use.”

The competition pool will also include a “signature” splash pad nearby and that part of the project will cost about $7 million. Also, going in on phase one will be the largest lake in the master plan.

“We’ll have some lake use as well as the loop trail,” Collins said. “We’ll also be able to improve some of the lawn areas and deliver those so they can be used for special events and just recreational use and informal use.”

The lake will have a kayak beach and a parking area and it will be available for use when phase one is over. A later phase will include a playground on an island in the lake.

Another goal of phase one is to begin putting in some of the landscaping features so they can get bigger during the entire project.

“Because the park is a long-term project and we want to get as much an impact on day one as possible so we’re going to include a lot of tree planting as part of phase one,” Collins said. “We think that getting the trees in early is going to be a key to making the park feel a lot different from what it does now. Having those trees go in early is going to give them a little head start as the park evolves and gets bigger, faster than if we waited to plant most of those trees in later phases.”

Simultaneously, a separate project will be going on at the same time as phase one to put in the parkway through the park.

“Some of the other elements that we will be able to deliver as part of phase one will be part of the trail system,” Collins said. “We’re going to be able to get about two and a half miles of the trail system included. That includes the multi-use trail along the road.”

See the complete plan below...