A stretch of Three Mile Creek near Lake Drive Tricentennial Park is set for a major facelift after the Mobile County Health Department’s public advisory board secured a $220,000 private grant to fund improvements to the waterway and surrounding green space.
The board, known as Women Making a Difference, has spent roughly two years pursuing the funding, which comes from the Sybil Smith Charitable Trust, a private foundation based in downtown Mobile. The health department’s director of prevention and wellness said the investment targets an area near Stanton Road that borders public housing and offers residents a rare stretch of accessible green space in midtown Mobile, close to the University of South Alabama Medical Center.
Officials described the creek as historically significant, noting it once served as the city’s first drinking water source. The renovation plan focuses on restoring the waterway’s ecological health while creating new recreational opportunities for nearby residents.
The project will roll out in three phases. The first phase, expected to wrap up by February, involves installing a kayak and canoe launch near Tricentennial Park, an addition organizers hope will draw paddlers who already travel to other regional waterways and might bring their families into the area as visitors.
The second phase calls for extending the park’s existing paved walking trail west toward West Ridge Road. A third phase would continue that trail below the Stanton Road bridge, past the Strickland Youth Center, and connect it to a nearby residential neighborhood along the creek. Organizers said phases two and three are targeted for completion by October 2015, with a longer-term vision of stretching the connected trail system to roughly 20 miles.
Health department officials said the park itself remains underused despite offering playgrounds, docks, covered gathering areas and a walking trail around Day Lake, along with a diverse wildlife habitat. A community event introducing the improvement project to residents is being planned for the spring to help raise awareness of the park’s existing amenities alongside the upgrades underway.
Organizers also framed the project as an opportunity to educate residents about storm-water runoff and the community’s role in the creek’s long-term health, saying they hope local pride in the waterway grows alongside the physical improvements. The Three Mile Creek work is one of several active green-space initiatives in the city, alongside efforts such as the Crepe Myrtle Trail, as Mobile continues to invest in connecting residents to its urban waterways.