Canal overhaul set to ignite economic and environmental resiliency
New York’s Erie Canal is about to be overhauled, with new public parks, residential areas and commercial hubs added in order to, “reignite economic and environmental resiliency across New York state.”
The Reimagine the Canals Task Force Plan was unveiled in January at Governor Andrew Cuomo’s annual State of the State address, in which he said that, “this bold and visionary plan to transform this historic waterway will build on the success of the Empire State Trail, grow tourism across upstate New York, improve resilience of today’s canal communities and ensure the economic sustainability of the waterway into the future.”
Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and is 350 miles long, crossing through New York State and 225 communities,
Erie Canal is a historic, manmade, 350-mile waterway built in the 19th Century. Crossing through New York state and 225 communities, it stretches from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie. After its completion in 1825, it was used as a method for shipping goods, and linking the east and west of the city via the Atlantic Ocean and Great Lakes region in the midwest.
The $300 million proposal, with conceptual designs by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and BuroHappold Engineering, will build new outdoor recreation areas and commercial spaces in towns along the canal.
The plan. was unveiled in January.
BurroHappold describe the initiative as an, “unprecedented opportunity for economic revitalisation and environmental restoration.”
$25 million has been set aside for a set of initial projects including a whitewater sports course, a WXY Architecture-designed pedestrian bridge for the town of Brockport, and an interactive, hydro-powered installation that illuminates the moveable dams, celebrating the Canal’s heritage and history as a great engineering feat.
Work will begin on the project later this year.
Several schemes to improve the resiliency of waterfront sites will be put in place; a separate $65 million investment fund will be used to research ice jams and flooding prevention for the Schenectady County area, while $135 million will be allocated for research into ecosystem restoration, flood mitigation and the prevention of invasive species.
A $100 million economic development fund is to be used for projects that “adaptively reuse canal infrastructure to enhance water recreation”, celebrate historic canal structures, develop unique canalside attractions and activities, and tie Erie Canal’s recreational improvements to the Empire State Trail.
Shivam Jumani, Cities Consultant at BurroHappold, says that, “as leader of the Task Force, BuroHappold helped shape the initiative’s guiding principles of increasing environmental resilience, restoring natural ecosystems , and sparking economic development for canal-side communities across the state of New York.”
The $300 million proposal will see new outdoor recreation areas and commercial spaces in towns along the canal.
Construction is due to begin this year, and is intended to connect every town, village and city along the waterway. Erie Canal is also expected to link with the Empire State Trail, a new Cuomo-proposed 750-mile connection of Manhattan to Lake Champlain and Buffalo to Albany.
Governor Cuomo is confident the new Erie Canal will boost tourism in upstate New York and ensure the economic sustainability of the Canal’s future.
The initiative is described as an, “unprecedented opportunity for economic revitalisation and environmental restoration.”