Planning session set for state park project

WATKINS GLEN--A meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 1 to begin mapping out construction phases for the project to redevelop the entrance to the Watkins Glen State Park.
"We've got our pre-construction meeting with our prime contractor scheduled for the first week of December," said Fred Bonn, Finger Lakes State Parks regional director. "We don't anticipate that that will have any effect on our completion deadline. We're aiming for June of 2018."
Under the original timeline, the $6.5 million project would have begun in August and was anticipated to be completed for the 2017 summer season. However, the timetable was delayed until the end of October, near the close of the park's operating season.
"We had some additional delays with getting some contracts approved," Bonn said. "I think you'll see equipment mobilized after we get past (Dec. 1)."
In terms of determining how this project will ultimately be phased, the pre-construction meeting will help determine which aspects are going to get phased at which time, he said, noting that is the purpose of the Dec. 1 meeting.
The overhaul of the park's entrance will include relocating the existing parking area away from the gorge and across Franklin Street. The state claims this will improve vehicular traffic flow on village streets, as well as pedestrian traffic flow in the park, and make the entrance more attractive to visitors.
Two properties adjacent to the entrance have been acquired by The Open Space Institute, Bonn said. Those properties will be joined by a vacant lot already owned by State Parks to create the new parking lot. The current parking lot will become green space, he said.
The entrance area will include a new visitor welcome center, where park staff can provide information about the park and the Watkins Glen Chamber of Commerce will have a counter to provide information about other attractions in the region.
Other improvements will include a small outdoor amphitheater and improved educational displays on the park's human history and natural and geologic features, including a touchable model of the gorge.
There will also be a new overlook at the base of the gorge, where people with mobility issues will be able to enjoy the waterfalls.
Other improvements include renovating the park's existing concession/rest room building and reopening the "Indian Trail" that has been closed for more than 50 years.
Funding to acquire the two properties for the parking lot project comes from the state's Environmental Protection Fund. Visitor entrance renovations will be funded through Gov. Andrew Cuomo's New York Parks 2020 program, a multi-year commitment to leverage $900 million in private and public funding for State Parks from 2011 to 2020.