Annapolis has released a draft of its first Public Water Access Plan, an effort to increase the number of places people can use to enjoy the city’s waterways.

In 2021, the Annapolis Maritime Task Force, a city advisory board that looks at ways to strengthen Annapolis’ maritime industry, identified equitable access to public waterways as a priority for the city, according to the document.

“Basically, people on the task force identified the fact that in our maritime zones, we have a significant amount of waterfront that should be publicly accessible but isn’t,” said Eric Leshinsky, chief comprehensive planner for the city.

The plan covers the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Public access sites include places to view the water and do things such as small fishing, boating and swimming.

“We want to be explicit, though, in where we can get in the water. … [T]here are some sites where it’s just very challenging to get in the water due to the physical constraints of the site,” Leshinsky added.

The are currently 44 such sites and the plan includes 60 new ones. Locations include the Route 450 Trail — currently in the design phase of upgrading its bicycle trail network — City Dock and Susan Campbell Park, Hawkins Cove, Robert H. Eades Park and the College Creek Connector trail. Twenty-six of the 60 new sites are “active projects,” Leshinsky said.

The College Creek Connector, the city’s first waterfront boardwalk connecting King George Street to Calvert Street along the College Creek shoreline, is among these active projects.

Making the public more aware of the waterways is part of the Annapolis Ahead 2040 comprehensive plan, a state-mandated initiative that lays out the future use of land, water and other natural resources.

Wells Cove, an inlet in Eastport, is set to have paths along the water improved. Leshinsky said that the city cannot make any improvements at present “on the water side” due to ongoing litigation over public access.

It is unclear how the pending litigation impacts the public’s access to the inlet, said Mitchelle Stephenson, spokesperson for the city.

While improvements are being made at the city’s six accessible waterways — Spa Creek, Back Creek, College Creek, Weems Creek and parts of Broad Creek and the Severn River — Leshinsky said the focus is on improving access to Weems and College creeks, where access is most limited.

“College Creek in particular is unusual in that there’s very little navigation … because of the bridges,” Leshinsky said.

Much of the waterfront land is owned by other organizations such as the Housing Authority of Annapolis, the Anne Arundel Board of Education, religious institutions, or the Naval Academy.

St. John’s College also sits on College Creek.

The city owns two small street-end parks: Northwest Street Park and Robert H. Eades Park where Clay Street becomes Glenwood Avenue. Currently, the plan seeks to make improvements to the parks the city owns.

“In some way, we do plan to confirm what we already know, so that… [we] get the facts down on paper [and] make sure we’re all looking at the same facts,” he said. “But for people who’ve been living in Annapolis, I think it’s been painfully clear that we haven’t really had adequate public water access on College Creek or Weems Creek for a while.”

The Annapolis City Council will have to vote on a final draft of the plan, which is open for public comment until Aug. 30. The plan and public comment portal can be viewed at annapolis.gov/2114/Public-Water-Access-Plan.