PUBLIC MEETING: Input on Broderick Park Master Plan

BUFFALO NIAGARA RIVERKEEPER ANNOUNCES 

BRODERICK PARK PUBLIC MEETING 

Public Input Sought for Broderick Park Master Plan

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Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, in partnership with the City of Buffalo and the citizen’s based “Friends of Broderick Park”, invite and encourage interested residents to attend an open public meeting, regarding the current master planning efforts for Broderick Park, on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, from 6:00PM to 8:00 PM, at the Belle Center, 104 Maryland Street, Buffalo, NY.

Broderick Park, located at the foot of West Ferry Street along the Niagara River, is a unique and publicly accessible waterfront asset that is ideal for anchoring and enhancing Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision of “a necklace of parks and open spaces along the length of the River, from Front Park in the City of Buffalo and stretching north of the Falls.” (Niagara River Greenway Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement 2007)

“This is the first of two planned public input sessions and will provide citizens an opportunity to review a conceptual master plan and offer suggestions and comments about the design. Riverkeeper believes that the best projects are those that encourage and integrate public participation”, said Jill Jedlicka, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper.

Funding for the master plan effort was awarded by the New York State Department of State under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund, as well as from the City of Buffalo. Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper has worked closely with the City of Buffalo and Friends of Broderick Park to implement this effort, and the project team has recently selected a consultant to prepare the Master Plan. Once the design and public input process is completed, over $1 million in park improvements will be constructed in 2012 and 2013.

The master plan integrates the goals of public education and celebration of the history of the Park. In addition, preliminary design concepts include an amphitheater and performance area, a modified parking layout, a new family gathering space, and a waterfront promenade. The park is already heavily used by anglers as a popular fishing access to the Niagara River.

The Master Plan is being developed to celebrate the area’s history, recently included in the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. In addition, the US Army Corps of Engineers is also performing an assessment of the existing seawall(s) at the park, and exploring opportunities for habitat restoration along the edge of the park, as well.

For more information about the design process and public meeting, contact Matthew O. Mattison, RLA at 716.852.7483 X33 or mattison@bnriverkeeper.org