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When contractors finish landscaping work at Niagara Falls State Park, visitors will find dozens of newly planted trees, more usable public space and a better view of the adjacent city of Niagara Falls.
In the meantime, visitors have watched older trees disappear. And they're not happy about it.
"I'm driving to work the other day. I'm looking at these beautiful white trees and thinking, 'It's finally spring,' " said Patrick J. Whalen, director of the Niagara Global Tourism Institute. "And then one of them goes down. And three hours after that, they're all gone. Ground up."
More than 70 mature trees have been destroyed between the main entrance and the parking lot on the northern edge of the park, as part of the final phase of a $70 million makeover of the park. The area formerly known as the Great Lakes Garden is a fenced-off construction area. Most of the trees, covered with white blossoms this time of year, are gone and the smell of fresh wood mulch hangs in air.
Angela Berti, spokeswoman for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said the former garden obstructed the view from the park into the city. The state's theory is that if people in the park can see the city better, they might be more tempted to venture into town and patronize some businesses.
"The trees are being removed to make way for a project that will create a seamless connection to the city and provide a more welcoming front door to the park," she said.
The concept was lost on Roy Benham of Rome.
"If you're not wanting to go into the city, you're not going to go into the city," he said. "If you just came to the see the falls, you're going to come to see the falls and leave."
Much of the former garden will become an open lawn, which Berti said is envisioned as a picnic and sunbathing zones, surrounded by some of the 99 new trees that will be planted. Most will be shade trees, while a few will be evergreens or ornamental trees.
Tom Buntzen of Maple Grove, Minn., heard about the plan and said he had mixed emotions about it.
"If they're going to put in some nice eating facilities where you can sit in the park area to have a lunch and be able to view the city, that's cool. But you've got to be able to get the trees back so you can replenish the oxygen that you take out by breathing," he said.
A new walkway will have some oval seating areas, including a large "welcome feature" that will include benches along curved granite walls emblazoned with the Niagara Falls State Park medallion, something that can serve as a backdrop for tourists' selfies.
An existing monument to Tuscarora Nation Chief Clayton Rickard will be moved from its current spot south of the entrance walkway to a spot closer to the visitor center north of the entrance.
"They had to make some improvements over there. You have to trust the processes," said Patrick Proctor of Rainbow Air, chairman of the Niagara Falls Tourism Advisory Board. "Of course, every job is going to look ugly when it first starts. It's the finished product that we should be concerned about."
But Proctor said Niagara Falls "seems like it's stuck in 1970-something."
"When I first saw it, I said, 'Wow, they mean business,' " Proctor said. "As a business owner I'm in favor of it, because they city is visible. There is stuff to do outside the state park to keep them here longer."
He and Thomas DeSantis, the city planning director, said a key part of the project is the additional bus drop-off lane being cut out of an "island" in the pavement beside the parking lot, which should reduce traffic congestion and make more room available for cars.
"We are not adding parking areas or new pavement, and the design of this area will be consistent with the rest of the park," Berti said.
The trees mulched near the park entrance were not in that bus area, and a row of eight flowering trees on the traffic island will survive, Berti said.
"When you have dozens and dozens of buses trying to board and alight people in the street, it not only makes congestion and traffic flow worse, it creates a very unsafe condition," DeSantis said.
Whalen complained that the public had no voice in the redesign. A meeting was held in February 2017, Berti said, but there was no public hearing.
"That wasn't public input," Whalen said. "Almost nobody had a chance to talk about it. And it's ours. It doesn't belong to them. It belongs to us, the people."
Going to have to investigate next time I go the Falls, which should be within the next few days. My knee-jerk reaction at seeing this article in the newspaper today was to think, 'oh, good, they went and ruined the one asset that the American side of the Falls has'. I guess i will have to reserve judgment for a.) seeing it in person, and b.) seeing the actually completed 'plan' in person
When contractors finish landscaping work at Niagara Falls State Park, visitors will find dozens of newly planted trees, more usable public space and a better view of the adjacent city of Niagara Falls.
In the meantime, visitors have watched older trees disappear. And they're not happy about it.
"I'm driving to work the other day. I'm looking at these beautiful white trees and thinking, 'It's finally spring,' " said Patrick J. Whalen, director of the Niagara Global Tourism Institute. "And then one of them goes down. And three hours after that, they're all gone. Ground up."
More than 70 mature trees have been destroyed between the main entrance and the parking lot on the northern edge of the park, as part of the final phase of a $70 million makeover of the park. The area formerly known as the Great Lakes Garden is a fenced-off construction area. Most of the trees, covered with white blossoms this time of year, are gone and the smell of fresh wood mulch hangs in air.
Angela Berti, spokeswoman for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said the former garden obstructed the view from the park into the city. The state's theory is that if people in the park can see the city better, they might be more tempted to venture into town and patronize some businesses.
"The trees are being removed to make way for a project that will create a seamless connection to the city and provide a more welcoming front door to the park," she said.
The concept was lost on Roy Benham of Rome.
"If you're not wanting to go into the city, you're not going to go into the city," he said. "If you just came to the see the falls, you're going to come to see the falls and leave."
Much of the former garden will become an open lawn, which Berti said is envisioned as a picnic and sunbathing zones, surrounded by some of the 99 new trees that will be planted. Most will be shade trees, while a few will be evergreens or ornamental trees.
Tom Buntzen of Maple Grove, Minn., heard about the plan and said he had mixed emotions about it.
"If they're going to put in some nice eating facilities where you can sit in the park area to have a lunch and be able to view the city, that's cool. But you've got to be able to get the trees back so you can replenish the oxygen that you take out by breathing," he said.
A new walkway will have some oval seating areas, including a large "welcome feature" that will include benches along curved granite walls emblazoned with the Niagara Falls State Park medallion, something that can serve as a backdrop for tourists' selfies.
An existing monument to Tuscarora Nation Chief Clayton Rickard will be moved from its current spot south of the entrance walkway to a spot closer to the visitor center north of the entrance.
"They had to make some improvements over there. You have to trust the processes," said Patrick Proctor of Rainbow Air, chairman of the Niagara Falls Tourism Advisory Board. "Of course, every job is going to look ugly when it first starts. It's the finished product that we should be concerned about."
But Proctor said Niagara Falls "seems like it's stuck in 1970-something."
"When I first saw it, I said, 'Wow, they mean business,' " Proctor said. "As a business owner I'm in favor of it, because they city is visible. There is stuff to do outside the state park to keep them here longer."
He and Thomas DeSantis, the city planning director, said a key part of the project is the additional bus drop-off lane being cut out of an "island" in the pavement beside the parking lot, which should reduce traffic congestion and make more room available for cars.
"We are not adding parking areas or new pavement, and the design of this area will be consistent with the rest of the park," Berti said.
The trees mulched near the park entrance were not in that bus area, and a row of eight flowering trees on the traffic island will survive, Berti said.
"When you have dozens and dozens of buses trying to board and alight people in the street, it not only makes congestion and traffic flow worse, it creates a very unsafe condition," DeSantis said.
Whalen complained that the public had no voice in the redesign. A meeting was held in February 2017, Berti said, but there was no public hearing.
"That wasn't public input," Whalen said. "Almost nobody had a chance to talk about it. And it's ours. It doesn't belong to them. It belongs to us, the people."
saplings are no replacement for mature landscaping. Stupid decision. History and maturity are important. No-one wants to visit such an awe-inspiring place and then see new trees like a subdivision builder just planted yesterday. America already has too much generic new.
America seems like the only first world culture that is still too young to know how to craft a mature setting by preserving certain things - like mature trees and certain architecture - that anchor the feeling of a place. Chop it down, raze it and start anew. Throw out everything, not just the selected parts that don't work.
Last edited by Chint; 05-14-2018 at 02:28 PM..
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