PARKS
LONG WALKS IN
They may be narrow, but city officials are hoping
Fort Pierce’s new linear parks will be widely used
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SUSAN BURGESS
For Fred and Sylvia Fickenwirth, it didn’t matter
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that the new Jetty Linear Park along the inlet on
South Hutchinson Island wasn’t quite finished or
that it was a brisk, windy day in January.
The retired couple were out for a walk along the
newly laid sidewalk, holding hands and enjoying the brilliantly
blue sky as foamy, white-capped waves kicked up out
of the indigo waters of the inlet.
The kerchief Sylvia had pulled over her hair flapped
slightly as the gusty wind played with it. Meanwhile, the
Fickenwirths rested on a low wall the city had built just for
that purpose.
“It’s beautiful,” Sylvia said. “We just got married three
years ago and we come out for a walk every day. This park
will be a place where families can come.”
A few minutes later, a visiting family from England went at
a half-run down the sidewalk, snapping pictures of a manatee
that surfaced about every 100 feet as it searched for food
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THE PARK
Sylvia and Fred Fickenwirth hold hands as they set off for a walk in the new Jetty Linear Park on a brisk and windy January day. The new 1,500-foot-long
park with a view of the inlet’s blue waters and boats ends with a walkway to Seaway Drive at Mangrove Mattie’s restaurant.