<!--Rick Pfeiffer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Rick Pfeiffer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:rick.pfeiffer@niagara-gazette.com">rick.pfeiffer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
It’s been 20 years since the New York State Park system modified the stretch of the Robert Moses Parkway that runs from John Daly Boulevard to the Rainbow Bridge.
Now, they’re looking to do it again and they went looking for as much public input as they could get Monday night.
“Public input is the crucial first step in this process,” said Mark Thomas, the Western Region director of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “We’re interested in hearing from as many people as we can.”
The crowd that packed the auditorium at the Orin Lehman Visitor Center in the Falls State Park had both questions and suggestions for the project which is targeted to begin construction in 2012.
“This is a project the city is looking to accelerate,” Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said. “We have a lot of ideas. We’d like to see the berm excavated and maybe the roadway eliminated. This is a parks restoration with a transportation element, not the other way around.”
The redesign of what is being called Robert Moses Parkway South is a collaboration between the state parks, state Department of Transportation, USA Niagara and the city. The Buffalo consulting firm of Hatch Mott MacDonald is spearheading the project.
Jeffrey Lebsack, the project manager, said when the parkway was constructed in 1962 it was a four-lane expressway through the city that cut it off from the falls. The redesign seeks to change that.
“The vision is a parkway that is in context with the wonder of Niagara Falls,” Lebsack said, “and enhances the opportunities for recreation and tourism.”
The redesigned parkway, planners said, should also create a “seamless” connection between the park and the city.
“It’s important that the park and the city aren’t seen as two different places,” Lebsack said. “So our goal is to improve access to both the park and the city.”
Additional meetings seeking public input on the project are expected to be held in early and late spring 2009.
