The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will host two public workshops regarding the next phase of Niagara Scenic Parkway removal.
The two meetings, one from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Niagara Falls Amtrak Station and another from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Red Brick Schoolhouse gym in the Village of Lewiston will inform the public on the status of Phase 3 of removal, going six miles from Findlay Drive in Niagara Falls to Center Street in Lewiston.
Both meetings will have a formal presentation followed by informal conversation and a review of the proposed concepts with project staff.
The first scoping meeting for phase 3 happened this past February, where three options were presented for converting parts of the parkway into nature trails. Two options feature the former southbound lane being converted into a multi-purpose trail and the northbound lane being converted into a new road, one of them featuring roundabouts, with the third option featuring the removal of both parkway lanes.
The parkway, originally known as the Robert Moses Parkway, was completed back in 1962, with the state officially announcing its removal back in 2013. Traffic data from 2023 had shown the parkway on this section was seeing less traffic than in nearby neighborhoods.
The first two phases of parkway removal replaced a mile-long section along the Niagara River and Niagara Falls State Park with a park road and a two-mile section between Main Street and Whirlpool State Park with walking trails, a two-lane road, and gorge overlooks.
This phase was allocated $1.5 million for scoping from the Niagara River Greenway Fund Standing Committee. Other partner agencies include USA Niagara Development Corporation, Empire State Development, the New York Power Authority, the Federal Highway Administration, and the state Department of Transportation.
Western District of State Parks Capital Facilities Manager Mark Mistretta previously told the Gazette that they will not know which option to go with or reconstruction costs until mid-2025.