SCHMITT: Road, trailway, or eyesore?

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August 30, 2008

By Tim Schmitt The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Sat Aug 30, 2008, 11:46 PM EDT

Editor’s note: Sports editor Tim Schmitt has hiked the Niagara Gorge Trail System during this eight-part series. Next week he’ll conclude the series with his best of/worst of.

This one I don’t get. Sorry. With a backpack, a notebook, and a pair of Crocs, I took to the final of my eight hikes along the Niagara Gorge Trail System. During this series, I’ve seen glorious foliage, rushing rapids, breathtaking rock formations.

But along the Robert Moses Parkway Trail, I saw pavement. Broken, rotten pavement.

I understand the reasoning behind the closure — the parkway was oddly constructed, never was built to freeway specs, and funding for repairs has been scarce.

Still, the idea that this more-than-3-mile stretch of concrete is a viable trail is silly. There are few attractive moments walking along the parkway, especially as cars whiz by.

The “hike” starts at the Devils Hole State Park parking lot, although I think the only thing this stretch is really good for is inline skating. It’s not long enough for serious bike riders, and the walk is flat-out boring. The only thing that kept me entertained along this stretch was the failed attempt to figure out what was wrong with my digital camera, and a guy on a unicycle who passed me twice.

Strangely, the next day when I drove to Lewiston, I saw the same guy. Must be his daily routine.

I’m really torn on what to do with this stretch of road. Since I think Lewiston and Youngstown are great places to live, and I’m certain they’d be choked by a full closure of the parkway, I hope that never happens.

I understand the argument put forth by Bob Baxter and the Niagara Heritage Partnership, but I hope we can agree to disagree. The reason downtown Niagara Falls has become a poster for urban blight has little to do with the parkway, and much more to do with labor unions, poor planning, and the fact the city sold its soul to industry.

Again, though, I think the work the Partnership has undertaken is noble — the group simply wants the area restored to its natural beauty.

Since I was bored to tears by the walk, I had plenty of time to mull this over. You don’t realize how fast you’re moving in a car until you walk alongside a stretch of road, seeing road signs inch closer.

Back to the Partnership’s plan — my fear is that the land already set aside for hiking needs maintenance. The one thing this series has done is opened my eyes to the poor job the state parks system does keeping these trails in working order. While it’s great there’s a part-timer waiting to talk about the trails at the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center and another manning a climbing wall, I can’t help but think those hours could be put to better use working on the trails.

If the parkway was completely ripped out — leaving the communities of Lewiston and Youngstown detached from downtown Niagara Falls — would there be a genuine benefit? Would it be a pristine setting? Or would it just give the state parks folks even less reason to maintain the area.

All that said, I don’t ever see the funding to fully restore the parkway to its two-way origins. And that’s sad. I’m sure it was a beautiful stretch of nature, and as a kid, I remember it being a beautiful stretch of road. Now, it’s got an empty vibe that makes it seem you’re in a land time forgot.

Unfortunately, it’s a hike you’d like to forget.

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.

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