By Mark Scheer
Niagara Gazette
NIAGARA FALLS —
A bid to remove a section of the Robert Moses Parkway has drawn interest from a few groups in Canada.
Several Ontario-based organizations have signed an online petition advocating for the elimination of the 6.5 mile parkway section along the top of the Niagara Gorge between Niagara Falls and Lewiston.
The Niagara Restoration Council, Friends of Niagara Falls, Preserve Our Parks, the Niagara Falls Nature Club and the Bert Miller Nature Club of Fort Erie all have endorsed the Niagara Heritage Partnership’s effort to have the stretch of parkway removed. To date, a total of 81 local, state, national and international organizations have supported the proposal. The list includes 30 Niagara Falls Block Clubs and several of the city’s business organizations.
"This growing international support demonstrates an increasing recognition that gorge parkway removal has high value — for the ecological restoration of the gorge we share and for the economic benefits arising from the natural world,” Partnership Chair Bob Baxter said.
The partnership has been advocating for parkway removal since 1997. Supporters of the effort believe elimination of the section between the Falls and Lewiston would promote greater use of local roads, thus generating more traffic in struggling city neighborhoods and business districts. They also contend restoration of the gorge rim would strengthen the local tourism economy by providing a welcome destination for naturalists, hikers, bikers and other eco-tourists.
Friends of Niagara Falls is a grassroots organization formed in Ontario to challenge plans for the proposed construction of a 57-story hotel on a parcel overlooking Horseshoe Falls in Canada.
Author and Friends of Niagara Falls member Cathy Buchanan believes preservation of natural resources makes sense on both sides of the border. Buchanan, who wrote “The Day the Falls Stood Still,” a novel that chronicles the early days of hydroelectric development on the Niagara River, noted the Niagara Parks Commission maintains a walking and biking path the length of the river from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Fort Erie. She believes it is part of the appeal the Canadian side of the river holds.
“Visitors come to Niagara Falls to see a natural wonder of the world,” Buchanan said. “Setting the river and falls against a backdrop of nature will enrich the experience of both locals and visitors, increasing Niagara’s appeal as a tourist destination. With ecotourism booming, providing an opportunity to hike the rim of the spectacular Niagara Gorge makes good business sense.”
To date, 1,841 individuals have signed the partnership’s online petition. Roughly 2,000 more previously supported a similar paper version, according to Baxter. Higher-profile removal advocates include conservation lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and actor Ed Begley Jr. Residents from as far away as Florida, Maine, Washington and Texas also have signed the petition.
Bob Morgan, a Michigan resident who grew up in Niagara Falls, classified the removal project as a “no-brainer.”
“One of the biggest mistakes Niagara Falls ever did — and let’s face it, there have been many — was to build the Niagara parkway in the 1960s,” Morgan noted in signing the online petition. “Tragic. Tragic. Tragic. The city is still suffering from that decision.”
Morgan, who lived in the Falls at the time the parkway was constructed, believes removal would undo some of the damage inner-city neighborhoods have endured since the parkway opened.
“It was an eyesore right from the beginning,” Morgan said.
Of course, not everybody feels the same way, especially frequent users of the parkway in Lewiston, Youngstown and other communities north of Niagara Falls. Members of the Parkway Preservation Committee — a collection of residents, business owners and community leaders who favor retention of the parkway — consider the stretch between Niagara Falls and Lewiston as a vital transportation route.
Both parkway preservationists and removal advocates were promised a more comprehensive review of what should be done with the roadway long-term. New York State Parks is responsible for the property on which the parkway is located. The agency was involved in the planning of a parkway study promised four years ago under an agreement with the City of Niagara Falls, the state Department of Transportation and the state-run USA Niagara Development Corp. The so-called scoping process remains on hold today.
USA Niagara Development Corp. President Christopher Schoepflin said his agency signed on to move forward with the effort years ago and remains committed as ever to the project.
“We are enthusiastic to have state parks begin that process,” Schoepflin said.
Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250
