Stop the Walls Above Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, Canada: The new high-rises will cast shadows on parts of Queen Victoria Park and Goat Island and will interfere with Niagara's trademark rainbow and the spectacle of the setting sun’s light on the Horseshoe Falls. More information and an online petition can be found HERE.

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• Canada's Moraine Management Plan - An Example of Ecological Restoration We Could Do In The Niagara Gorge (fadingintomyth.blogspot.com)

Robert Moses Parkway. One Wild Plan 2

Subject: Moses Parkway, Niagara falls

To: Doug Brackett
From: Gary H Scott

Doug- I read about your leading a plan to remove a portion of the Moses Parkway in Niagara Falls. Outstanding !
The Moses Parkway was one of the most ill-conceived projects ever, along with many of his expressways that ruined the Bronx, and areas north of the Bronx. In 1985, I was the lead LA on the Cannon Design team that was charged with re-establishing the Niagara Reservation, aka Prospect Point, at the American Falls. Along with developing pathways that followed the original routes, recreating the upper and lower (active and passive) areas of the park, and creating as many Olmsted pathway "braids", hidden views,framed views, etc, my primary goal was elimination of the Moses Parkway.I had hopes of removing the Parkway as far east as the exit that heads toward the casino, knowing that Olmsted's park plan reached almost to Seventh Street.The State Parks and Rec folks insisted that the parkway physically remain along the upper rapids as it is today, "....to assuage the handful of fishermen who drive there to fish". ......Fortunately, you don't have such absurd notions along the gorge. I would offer the following suggestions in your efforts to return the lower river area to a bikepath, walking trail, with removal of the parkway. 1) Tie in the ecological virtues of the lower gorge to those of Goat Island, which was Olmsted's method of protecting Goat Island. 2) The City of NF has no similar facility (bikepath/walkway) that offers direct connection to so many residential areas 3) Removal of the parkway would allow for reforestation along the route, changing the scale and making the overlooks more meaningful.

The article I read didn't define the limits of the study, but I'd hope that the nodes would at least be Devil's Hole Park and Whirlpool Park. Good luck in your efforts. If I can be of assistance, please let me know.

BTW, my daughter and her husband are graduates of ESF, two degrees each, in wildlife biology.

Sincerely, Gary H Scott, RLA Az, formerly RLA in NY, Mass,Conn, Md
130 S. Melpomene Way Corona, Az *5641 520-762-1020 ghsbas@gmail.com

Transparency and the Niagara River Greenway

One concern I have had since the Niagara River Greenway process started: how do we ensure our requests and suggestions are not only acknowledged, but implemented? My understanding is this is a public process and projects, especially controversial ones, are to have public hearings and input.

If we continue to be ignored and summarily dismissed do we, NREC, the Niagara ReLicensing Environmental Coalition, have a plan to implement and ensure greater transparency? If we don't, shouldn't we?

Were any changes made to the recently approved projects? To any project? I know many had and voiced concerns regarding the Scenic Trail in Lewiston and the use of non native trees in the ReTree Proposal.

Did NREC receive any written correspondence from the Greenway Commission about the Scenic Trail? About ReTree? If not, why not? If so, could it be shared, please.

National Association for Olmsted Parks - Economic Benefits, Parks Practices

City parks are dynamic institutions that play a vital, but not fully appreciated or understood role in the social, economic, and physical well-being of America's cities and its residents. Dating back to the 19th century when Frederick Law Olmsted introduced the first large-scale city parks to this country, these green spaces provided relief from urban intensity for city residents and brought people together across social, economic and racial divides. In the postwar years, when the population shifted away from urban centers, our nation's city parks suffered enormously from disinvestments and many are still experiencing it.

As cities across the country are attracting millions of residents again, the center of this sweeping urban renaissance are newly revitalized parks. They are not only safe and beautiful, but also serve as green engines to help address nearly every critical urban need from health to housing, to education and environmental justice, and countering sprawl to combating crime. This massive movement to rebuild America's forgotten city parks now includes thousands of community partnerships and millions of volunteers.

The Parks Practices Web site has been developed by the City Parks Alliance (CPA) and National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) partnership to assist local parks in meeting their current needs more effectively as they encounter the ever present challenges in preserving, maintaining, operating and funding their parks and in serving their increasingly diverse constituents. Park leaders have developed innovative approaches to address these issues, responding to a changing economic climate where public budgets for city parks have been reduced and the reliance on the public sector grows. The site seeks to highlight the experience of CPA and NAOP members both successes and failures, facilitate a sharing of lessons learned, and provide opportunities for interaction among city park leaders and citizen groups. It is hoped that through this effort there will be greater investment in city parks across the country and a renewed interest in their role as centers of our common heritage. (Source: National Association for Olmsted Parks)

Trading Places. One month with one person. Who? Why?

Give me a month, thirty-one days, and I’ll change places with Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.

I’ll roust his bony frame out of a certain slow-rollover with an imperative; look how they’ve blackened a vision. See how pavement and Moses have transmuted dreams for the Niagara Reservation State Park, Goat Island, and the Niagara River gorge.

Before I go under, I’ll exchange Olmsted’s rose-colored eyepiece for my paper reams: lists, resolutions, petitions, memos of understanding, newspaper articles, letters, presentations, and some guiding principals about a greenway. Here, I’ll say as I thrust that ultimate, final pulp fiction into his hands, here are the names of the commissioners. Are their documented words consistent with their actions? Here’s a paperless address for an opinion, please.