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October 6, 2003
Commissioner Bernadette Castro
NYSOPRHP
Empire State Plaza, Agency Bldg. 1
Albany, New York 12238
Dear Commissioner Castro:
We are writing to suggest that the closure of part of the Robert Moses
Parkway along the gorge rim, currently interrupted since June of this year
by the City of Niagara Falls maintenance work involving an interceptor
drain, has compromised the information-gathering phase of the pilot
program. This work required blocking off a significant length of the
closed lanes, making them inaccessible to hikers, cyclists, and others
wishing to use them.
While we have been critics of the pilot since its inception, this
situation makes information the pilot may have produced even more
questionable. It is our hope, although information compiled as a result
of the pilot may be released at the end of the year, that final decisions
regarding this section of the parkway will be postponed.
The potential of parkway removal and the natural restoration of the gorge
rim is an issue being studied as part of the New York Power Authority
relicensing process, in which we are stakeholders. We hope that the OPRHP
will be active participants in these discussions, with special interest,
as one example, in that portion of the highway that has severely degraded
Devil’s Hole State Park.
Communities in the region continue to struggle with the final vision for
the gorge rim. Of the options available 1) put back four lanes 2) retain
two lanes for commuters 3) remove all four lanes from Niagara Falls to
Lewiston, New York and restore natural landscapes on the gorge rim, it is
our hope that the third option will prevail, and we request that it be
given full consideration.
Sincerely,
Bob Baxter, Conservation Chair
cc Hon. Byron W. Brown
Hon. Francine DelMonte
Hon. George Maziarz
Hon. George E. Pataki
Edward Rutkowski, Asst. Deputy Commissioner NYSOPRHP
Hon. Louise M. Slaughter
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Evaluation - Feb. 2004 |