Designers of the project to re-envision Erie Boulevard presented concept sketches to the public Friday, giving Onondaga County residents a more concrete idea of their plans. Elevating Erie is set to be completed by 2020, and will feature a biking and walking trail in the median of Erie Boulevard East. The path is part of a state-wide initiative to create an Empire State Trail which will span 760-plus miles from Buffalo to Manhattan and up to Canada. Samuel Gordon is the Director of Planning and Zoning for the Town of DeWitt. He says the magnitude of the project will be a struggle.
“This is the most challenging segment of the gaps in the Canal Way Trail system across the state and that’s why they’ve allocated the largest pot of money to address the issue.”
$18.3 million in state funding has been allocated to the Erie Boulevard project. An additional $3.5 million will go towards constructing the remaining sections of the trail in Onondaga County. While this project is large, Gordon says he’s pleased with all of the pieces finally falling into place.
“This is something that the county has been working on, the city has been working on, the state is looking at, the town is working on and the pieces are falling place to make this possible. And it’s because of investments in the Onondaga Creek Walk, in the Loop the Lake Trail system, the town’s project of Elevating Erie and looking long term and asking designers, ‘How do you make this better?’ You know, all those things are coming together to make this a reality.”
The trail would connect DeWitt to downtown Syracuse up to the Loop the Lake trail and towards the fairgrounds. The majority of the path would be off-road and accessible from multiple points throughout the city. Gordon says this trail has been a while in the making.
“The Canal Way Trail Project has been in the works for twenty years or more and I think this was the time. We’re celebrating the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. This was an impetus for, I think, the Governor’s interest in saying, ‘Let’s do this thing that we’ve been waiting 20 years to do.’”
There will be another public forum on March 14th to present the final designs for the Erie Boulevard portion of the project. Construction will begin in 2019. Click here to view the complete concept presentation and find more information at elevatingerie.com