Walking the new (very, very, very green) multi-use path along Corning Riverfront Park
Some quick photo follow-up on the pedestrian and bike upgrades project at the Corning Riverfront Park in Albany. This is the $5 million project that was under construction last year, and prompted the move of Alive at Five to Broadway last summer.
The goal of the upgrades was to widen the (now vibrantly green) multi-use path through the park, provide a route for through walkers and bikers to bypass events in the park by going along the back of the tidal ponds, and making it easier for people to find connections between downtown and the park.
The project is finished and so we figured we'd swing back and walk it...
Look up
The photos are at the top in large format -- click or scroll all the way up.
Still to come
You might think of this project as phase one of an overall set of goals the city has for the park. Last week Chris Spencer, Albany's planning director, said the city is pursuing funding to possibly open the tidal ponds to recreation of some sort -- like kayaking. And a next phase could also include working with the state to allow vendors for things like bike and kayak rental.
One other thing
Walking the length of the path in the park this week, it re-emphasized for us the need for some sort of better connector for the northern end of the park and downtown. If you want to go the Warehouse District, the path leads the way. But to loop back into downtown proper or Arbor Hill still seems harder than it should be.
Maybe the way to do that eventually is that proposed Albany Skyway project. Maybe it's something else. But it's worth thinking about.
Earlier
+ Connecting Albany's riverfront park
+ A few bits about the proposed Albany Skyway
+ The plan to connect two major bike paths at the Albany waterfront
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Comments
Fun fact: From the intersection of Water Street and Colonie St (the "western terminus" of the path after is terminates under 787) there is an unused single track rail line that runs north to Global Terminal near Huck Finn's. The line seems to be entirely in the ROW of NYSDOT and could terminate at the new Playland. From there, by using an access road and the east side of Erie Blvd, a path could connect to the 786 exit 6 ramp (and Menands)
... said daleyplanit on Jun 1, 2017 at 10:37 AM | link
A question... what;s with the dayglow green for this path? When I first saw it off of 787 I thought it must be a setup to green-screen some potential upgrades or something. Some Photoshoppers could have some fun with that...
... said BJK on Jun 1, 2017 at 2:03 PM | link
@BJK: That color has become a standard application for bike and multi-paths. It's supposed to increase visibility and make it very clear the path is not for vehicular traffic.
@daleyplanit: Interesting! That area is a big tangle of blocked streets and paths. It could really use some attention.
... said Greg on Jun 1, 2017 at 2:14 PM | link
nice goslings!
... said eika on Jun 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM | link
I'm curious just how much paint it took to turn all that black asphalt green.
... said Blergh on Jun 14, 2017 at 10:53 AM | link