Nature lovers and trail goers around Western New York now have access to a new outdoor resource spanning Erie and Niagara Counties.
After years of effort, the final leg of Greenway trail has been completed between Niagara Falls and Buffalo, creating an unbroken chain from Erie County to Lewiston.
Filling in the final 1.75 miles through Niagara Falls' LaSalle neighborhood is a major milestone within the local trail system, especially with the challenges to get around River Road and Buffalo Road, Niagara River Greenway Executive Director Greg Stevens said.
"One of the top priority projects for the Greenway was the creation of the Niagara Shoreline Trail connecting Lake Erie to Lake Ontario along the shore of the Niagara River," he said. "That is 37 miles, and the most difficult gap in the entire trail was this project, Wheatfield and LaSalle."
The trail is a $1 million project, with $800,000 funded through a grant from the New York State Department of Transportation and $200,000 from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.
The shoreline trail will help the community further capitalize on resources like Lake Erie, State Assemblyman Angelo Morinello said. It's important to build up resources like the lakes and trail system, not just to attract tourists, but also residents, Morinello said.
"What you need to do is design and draw upon the assets that you have, and I always say you have to build who you are, rather than try and become who you're not," he said. "Okay, and that's been my focus, and that's going to be more of a focus of mine. Now that we have the trail done, we have access to the water. We have great fishing in out on Lake Ontario. We have some great fishing on the Niagara River."
His next hope for the Greenway is to get a portion that from Lewiston up to Fort Niagara.
Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino sees the new trail as a resource for the community, but also an opportunity for fun with local political figures and nonprofit donations.
"All these folks that are up here, I'm going to be asking them to get into this biking challenge, and you get to donate how many miles Bonnie (Lockwood)'s going to bike and how many miles Greg (Steven)'s going to bike so that we can figure out just how healthy we all want to be."
