Niagara River Shoreline Trail segment debuts at LaSalle Waterfront Park

By Benjamin Joe

The City of Niagara Falls has a new, 1.75-mile path by Buffalo Avenue for walking, biking and jogging. The area begins at LaSalle Waterfront Park. It connects to the Niagara River Shoreline Trail, as the pathway takes users through the LaSalle neighborhood, onto a paved pathway along the LaSalle Expressway, and links with Cayuga Road to the rest of the trail.

Officials from the Niagara River Greenway Commission, City of Niagara Falls and New York State Department of Transportation, as well as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s appointed Western New York regional director (Bonnie Kane Lockwood), gathered together at LaSalle Waterfront Park on Tuesday morning to cut the ribbon to the new trail.

“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,” said Greg Stevens, executive director of the Niagara River Greenway. “That is 37 miles – and the most difficult gap in the entire trail was this project: Wheatfield and LaSalle. How were we going to get around River Road and Buffalo (Avenue) and connect our trail system?”

Stevens invited those gathered to look at a map of the overall trail from eight years before in which LaSalle was connected.

“It was a little more than 3.75 miles and it was a $7 million project to put that together, and it couldn’t have happened without the collaboration that you see here today,” he said.

Lockwood said the completion of the trail would benefit everyone who visited, whether residents or out-of-towners, for the sake of their “physical and mental health.”

“This is what the governor works for each and every day: To fight for families to have access to get offline, to get outside, for our physical and mental health,” she said.

Lockwood also noted the trail took bike traffic off the streets to the safer trail network. She said residents could now see the beauty in their neighborhoods more closely than from a car.

This project, which cost $1 million, was partially funded by an $800,000 grant provided by the NYSDOT and $200,000 from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino cited conversations with Councilman Brian Archie, “who spends most of his time in non-public hours dealing with, ‘How do we create a healthier world? What do we do to make things better for residents?’ It’s really been a mission of ours since we came to City Hall, whether it’s protecting food resources or, in this instance, getting people out and moving about. The City of Niagara Falls is one big city … but this trail allows people from the north end to ride out to Lake Erie, as well as the east, west and south end of the city. It really provides an opportunity for everyone to enjoy the beauty of the Niagara River shoreline and all what Western New York can offer those who enjoy the great outdoors.”

The Niagara Region of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation noted, “State-of-the-art wayfinding signage will help guide both residents and visitors along the regional trail network.”

It added, “In 2019, the project received $800,000 from the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, which is administered in New York state by NYSDOT. The program supports the construction of new, multiuse bicycle and pedestrian facilities; new, ADA-accessible sidewalks; improved access to public transportation; and enhanced roadway safety.”

New York State Assemblyman Angelo Morinello said there is one last piece of the “puzzle” outstanding.

“What you saw today on the map was a puzzle that was put together for the benefit of Western New York. There is one more segment we are going to work on. We are trying to bring it from Lewiston down to Fort Niagara. That part will complete the trail as they have envisioned it,” he said.

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino addresses a crowd in LaSalle Park at the ribbon-cutting of the newest addition to the bike trail system in Niagara County.