Project benefits include improved views of Onondaga Creek, improved water quality, safer routes for pedestrians, increased ecological value and youth job opportunities
Syracuse, N.Y. – The City of Syracuse Department of Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs will host an in-person walk and talk public meeting on the Creekwalk, Wednesday, June 23 at 7 p.m., coordinated in partnership with Onondaga Earth Corps (OEC). The meeting will start at 201 Oxford Street, at the intersection of Bellevue and Midland Avenues.
Representatives from Syracuse Parks, the City’s design consultant Applied Ecological Services, and Onondaga Earth Corps will tour project areas with community members to view the current state of the landscape and discuss a range of landscape improvements possible in the next two years. The group will walk approximately 1.5 miles total. Residents are encouraged to offer input on the types of changes they would like to see. The feedback collected will be used to inform the design concepts for the Creekwalk from Temple Street to South Avenue.
Those interested in joining the meeting can register online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/159463195711.
Funded through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (NRDAR), the Onondaga Creek Habitat and Greenway Enhancement Project will establish an ecologically diverse plant community along the 1.3-mile stretch of the new Creekwalk from the Kirk Park footbridge to Temple Avenue.
Over the next four years, OEC will take the lead on this transformation including the planting and maintenance of over 3,000 trees and shrubs. NRDAR funding is managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation aimed at supporting conservation projects that address the historic negative impacts to Onondaga Lake and its tributaries.
For details about the project, visit https://onondagaearthcorps.org/creekwalkextension/
For those unable to attend the meeting, questions, comments and ideas can be submitted via email to: info@onondagaearthcorps.org.
