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The two
boardwalks offer quite different experiences: first, the
“wet” boardwalk is about 4-feet lower than the “dry”
one and inundated 5-17” at high tides so that on a hot,
humid day, children and adults can don bathing suits and
wade across to the island – actually, like a beach,
sloshing through the shallow river waters or resting on one
of several wooden “rocks.” Of course, like a public
pool, this will need to be supervised and closed if
conditions are deemed unsafe. Wave baffles will
calm excessive waves and deflect debris from the north and
the aquarium itself acts like a “break-water” to give
similar protection from the south and Pier 11 ferries.
The boardwalk surface needs to be smooth and non-slip,
canted about 5% to get the variable depth. The
“dry” boardwalk offers the expected features – a level path
to the island suitable for strollers, wheelchairs, bicycles,
etc. with benches along the way.
 The
upper boardwalk also looks down on the floating dock for
small boats. The dock is entered by ramps from
the pier’s midpoint, the Tower Pavillion. At this
point, the size and number of tie-ups of this mini-marina is
undetermined. It could be expandable with finger
piers and be capable of handling larger vessels in an
emergency. The Boat Dock will provide a revenue source
to cover operating expenses and contribute to the
non-revenue-producing elements of the project.
Because of the extreme temperatures
in winter, low visitation, high costs for heating the water and related
maintenance problems, the aquatic exhibit would be drained, cleaned, and
covered when temperatures fall below freezing. A 3,500sf x 12 feet
high equipment room will be needed, located under the circular island at
the end of the pier, with an adjoining space for animal husbandry and
marine life-holding. Both will be serviced by an elevator from the
lower floor to the island deck.
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