The New York State Canal System spans more than 500 miles across dozens of counties through major cities, small towns, and rural landscapes. Perhaps best known for the Erie Canal, the system also encompasses the Oswego, Cayuga-Seneca, and Champlain Canals and several adjacent lakes. Historically, the canals represented an immense feat of engineering that connected the Great Lakes to the East Coast and rapidly accelerated growth across the region. In recent decades, the system has evolved from an active industrial shipping corridor to a unique collection of historical assets, recreational space, and ecological habitats along its 424 miles of Canalway Trails, 57 locks, and countless canalside parks.
Working with local leaders and subject matter experts, Agency led a year-long process to refresh the Canal Recreationway Plan — looking to 2050, and beyond, to envision a reinvigorated network of parks, trails, and waterways that remain relevant and vital to upstate New York for decades to come. At the heart of the plan is a celebration of the various social, cultural, environmental, and economic functions the canals perform for New Yorkers. At every step in the process, the ideas and aspirations of the plan were shaped in close collaboration with canal communities and the people of New York State.
Adopted in advance of the Erie Canal’s bicentennial in 2025, the plan contemplates the system’s third century of operation to chart a future distinct from its past. The final document articulates a clear vision for the system as “a vibrant throughline of canals, parks, and trails for New York State” supported by a set of guiding principles, strategies, and actions that lay out a path to achieving this goal. In doing so, it speaks to a broad audience of State agencies, environmentalists, educators, preservationists, lawmakers, and canal enthusiasts to collectively embrace and collaboratively enact this future.
Agency was joined in this work by Fisher Associates, David Klein, Moffatt and Nichol, and Netula. Throughout, we were closely advised by stakeholders across the New York Power Authority, New York State Canal Corporation, and the Canal Recreationway Commission.
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