From today's Democrat & Chronicle at
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130905/NEWS01/309050031/Thomas-Richards-Joe-Robach-High-Falls-trail:A state grant of $275,000 will help the city extend a trail in the High Falls gorge and once again light up the cascade.
Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards and state Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, accompanied by George Moses, executive director of Northeast Area Development and the Group 14621 Community Association, announced the grant Thursday morning outside the Genesee Brew House.
The trail will extend from the east end of the Pont de Rennes pedestrian span along the gorge to a platform overlooking the falls. The trail will be built on an old rail bed that once served Genesee and which the city bought from freight rail company CSX about six months ago for $200,000, City Engineer Jim McIntosh said.
Only spotlights, not the old laser show, will return to the falls.
The city plans to match the state grant money to fully pay for the project, McIntosh said. Richards acknowledged there are other projects that could be done with that funding, but he said the city had to act to secure the abandoned rail bed.
“We don’t get opportunities to protect this type of property very often,” he said.
The lights, discontinued several years ago because of their cost, could return next spring or summer, McIntosh said. Work on the trail could begin in fall 2014 or spring 2015, he said, though Richards added that he wants construction to start sooner.
Robach said the state money comes from a municipal capital program for city projects that enhance urban areas, create jobs and improve neighborhoods. By bringing more people to the area, the project will do all three, bolstering existing businesses and spurring new development, he said.
Richards acknowledged that plans to develop along High Falls have not always gone smoothly, alluding to scuttled plans to turn the west side of the Pont de Rennes span into an entertainment district. Residents wanted more businesses and homes, according to McIntosh.
“The city learned a lesson on the other side, and that is we need to listen to what people are telling us,” Richards said.
Richards defended the new plans, saying the bridge is now a busy place.
Moses recalled watching the High Falls light show as a child and said he can now show his son the area as he once viewed it.
“The investment is worth it,” Moses said.
Speakers said the project would enhance longer-term plans for GardenAerial, an elevated garden and arboretum ringing the falls. Benjamin Woelk, associate director of Friends of the GardenAerial, welcomed the new section of trail.
“We can’t do this project without their involvement,” he said of the city.
Richards and Robach also stressed how unique the falls is. Robach referred to the project as “polishing a gem.”
“Very few cities have something like this right smack in the middle of the city,” Richards said. “It’s very unusual.”
