It’s time to walk the walk in Gig Harbor. Thanks to innovative people like Dr. Pat Hogan and many other volunteers associated with Healthy Communities of Pierce County, you can now walk, run or bike in town and use mile markers embedded in the sidewalks as your guide.
For more than a year, I have been working with volunteers from HCPC, a local non-profit organization. The group has a vision to create collaborative ideas and programs that help sustain multiple perspectives of health and wellness in Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula.
These volunteers, made up of local physicians, educators and business leaders, have done lectures, a full weekend summit, and they’re taking the lead on the community garden that’s currently underway at Wilkinson Farm Park.
And, through Hogan’s leadership, the group developed and initiated the mileage marker system in Gig Harbor.
With the goal of getting Gig Harbor residents to be physically active, HCPC wanted to create easily navigable walking/running loops as a motivator. Three easy, intersecting loops have been created for an entertaining and fun way to move about town — without a car. Encouraging physical activity and less traffic provides a benefit for everyone.
Hogan, a local neurologist, and his wife Joan, a local dietitian, made a personal contribution to purchase the materials needed for the sidewalk markers. A special weather- and vandal-proof material was used and designed specifically for this type of use.
The City of Gig Harbor’s public works staff worked with Hogan to place the markers on the sidewalks in a manner that is clear and easy to understand. Three routes are in place, with a little more work needed to complete all of the marker placements.
The routes are:
Green route — Begins at the Old Ferry Landing and proceeds along Harborview Drive to Vernhardsen, then all the way back, making a 4-mile loop.
Blue route — Begins at the Peninsula branch of the Pierce County Library System on Point Fosdick Drive and proceeds down Soundview Drive to Harborview Drive, up Pioneer Way to a left on Judson Street and back up Soundview to Point Fosdick, making a 5-mile loop.
Red route — Begins at the Kimball Drive Park & Ride, goes right on Pioneer Way, left on Stinson Avenue, right on Harborview Drive, right on Pioneer, right on Edwards Drive, left on Stinson and back to the Park & Ride, making a 3-mile loop.
The final piece of the program is to create a map/guide that shows the routes, as well as other trails in the area. With the extension of the Cushman Trail slated for completion in the fall, Gig Harbor will have a wide variety of interesting routes to enjoy on foot or bike.
Healthy Communities of Gig Harbor believes Gig Harbor could become a role model for other communities as an “Active City.”
Watch www.gigharborguide.com for the map, but get out and enjoy the routes now, and let us know what you think.
If you would like to get involved in this project — or others put on by HCPC, e-mail Hogan at hoganpsn@aol.com.
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