The New York State Canal System spans over 500 miles across 17 counties and through major cities, small towns, and rural landscapes. While it is best known for the Erie Canal, the system also encompasses the Oswego, Cayuga-Seneca, and Champlain Canals and adjacent lakes. Historically, the canals represented an immense feat of engineering that connected the Great Lakes to the East Coast and rapidly accelerated westward expansion. Today, they provide unique historical assets, recreational space, and ecological habitats along its 350-mile Canalway Trail, 57 locks, and countless nearby parks.
Working with local communities and subject matter experts, Agency is leading a year-long process to refresh the Canal Recreationway Plan and define a new strategic vision for the system. At the heart of the team’s “many canals, one system” approach is the celebration of the various social, cultural, environmental, and economic functions the canals perform for New Yorkers. Rooted in this expansive vision, the system holds the potential to become a driving force for coordination and planning that ties canal communities together and strengthens the region as a whole.
The project team includes Fischer Associates, David Klein, and Netula. We are closely advised by stakeholders across the New York Power Authority, New York State Canal Corporation, and the Canal Recreationway Commission.
Photo credit: Image 4: Frank Forte, Image 7: Philip Kamrass
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