Most of us walk or drive past it without a second look: a straight, quiet canal running beside the FEC rail line on the edge of Pineapple Park. But the Stub Canal is one of the oldest pieces of infrastructure in West Palm Beach, and PPNA has a plan to give it a second life.
A canal that built a city.
In 1911, local businessman George Currie petitioned Governor Albert Gilchrist for a canal linking Lake Okeechobee to Lake Worth. The forty-mile
West Palm Beach Canal was authorized in 1913 and completed in 1917. By 1918, an extension, the "stub," brought the canal straight into the city's business district, where the City built shipping facilities and a
turning basin. Until 1925, when better rail and road connections took over, the Stub Canal carried passengers, Glades produce and supplies between West Palm Beach and the farm towns around the lake.
The historic
Stub Canal Turning Basin is in Howard Park, marked by a Florida historical marker on Parker Ave. south of Okeechobee Blvd. It sits just up the road from us.
What it looks like today
The aerial above shows the stretch between the I-95 overpass and the Howard Park end of the canal. On the neighborhood side, a wide public easement runs between our homes and the water. It is mostly mown turf, with a few mature shade trees, no path, no benches and a steep, bare canal bank. It drains the neighborhood well, but it gives us very little back.
The proposal: a neighborhood greenway
In May 2026, PPNA delivered an 18-page conceptual proposal to the City of West Palm Beach for a
Stub Canal Greenway: a shaded multi-use path, native Florida plantings, a vegetated canal bank that filters runoff, and a few small places to sit and gather. It also calls for simple signs telling the canal's story.
Read the full draft proposal (PDF).
The plan has four phases, starting with what neighbors can do right now:
- Phase 1: Cleanup (PPNA-led, starting now). Volunteer cleanups through the Solid Waste Authority's Adopt-A-Spot program, with before-and-after photos.
- Phase 2: Jurisdiction & survey. The City, the South Florida Water Management District (the canal is part of SFWMD's C-51 system) and PPNA confirm who controls what, and the corridor gets surveyed.
- Phase 3: Design with neighbors. A licensed landscape architect develops the design, with community workshops.
- Phase 4: Funding & construction. Grants and City capital funds, built in phases.
How you can help?
Follow this series over the next few weeks: we'll cover the cleanup, what the finished greenway could look like, and the trees, trash cans and doggy-bag stations that come with it. If you'd like to be on the cleanup crew, email
info@pineapplepark.us with "Stub Canal" in the subject line.
Join now. Community awaits:
pineapplepark.us
