NEWS

Facelift coming for parts of Lake Ontario State Parkway

Meaghan M. McDermott
@meagmc
The Lake Ontario State Parkway west of Hamlin State Park Thursday, April 7, 2016.

The Lake Ontario State Parkway was built to last.

Constructed in the mid-1900s, the scenic 35-mile stretch of roadway between Carlton, Orleans County and Lake Avenue in Rochester is one of only two state parkways in western New York. It links Hamlin Beach State Park, Braddock Bay State Wildlife Management Area, Lakeside Beach State Park and an array of recreational sites on the southern shore of Lake Ontario.

It's a vital driver of economic activity in Orleans County, a western gateway to Monroe County and is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

And, it's endangered, even though the state Department of Transportation is gearing up to make a $14 million investment in the road in 2017 and 2018.

"This is a great start, a very positive move," said Ken DeRoller, an Orleans County legislator who's been vocal about the need for the state to turn its attention to the deteriorated parkway. News of the funding stream came during a meeting this month with legislators, officials from DOT and members of the Oak Orchard Homeowner's Association. "We have been so very concerned about that (and) this needs to be taken care of."

His county and the Genesee Transportation Council are partnering for a $55,000 study looking at finding a new best use for an especially ill-maintained 6.5 mile section of parkway that runs roughly from Hamlin to the parkway's western terminus in Carlton. That stretch, built in the late 1960s, wasn't constructed like a typical asphalt-topped roadway. Instead, it was built with a thick concrete driving surface, a construction choice that provided great longevity but comes with a much higher replacement cost.

The bulk of the DOT money earmarked for the parkway, nearly $9 million, will be used in 2017 to pave lanes in Monroe County; from Route 19 in Hamlin east to Payne Beach. In 2018, about $5 million will be used to repair roughly 7 miles of parkway from Route 19 west to Route 237 in Kendall. That, DeRoller said, will cover repairs on the most deteriorated section of roadway.

► Will limited resources decommission some roads, bridges?

Lori Maher, DOT spokeswoman said that $5 million project will likely be approved in December, then move into its design phase. She said the agency is still determining the most cost-effective way to make lasting fixes to the concrete section.

Restoring the parkway is a priority for the Landmark Society of Western New York, which added the roadway to its list of "Five to Revive" for 2016. This is the fourth year the organization has named five key properties or sites ripe for preservation, revitalization or adaptive reuse. The parkway is the first road the group has ever designated in need of revitalization.

Wayne Goodman, executive director of the Landmark Society said the roadway was too important to not single out.

The Lake Ontario State Parkway west of Hamlin State Park Thursday, April 7, 2016.

"It is a historic resource, it is in the federal Scenic Byways program and there is this recent history of concern over its upkeep and maintenance," he said. "We added it so we could give it some additional advocacy. And we are cautiously optimistic about its future."

His group is advocating for possible reuse as a multi-purpose recreational corridor "with road maintenence costs decreased as the Parkway's use and appeal is diversified to better serve varied groups of users."

The Genesee Transportation Council/Orleans County study of the parkway will be completed in late 2017.

DeRoller said the roadway is a vital driver of the county's $12 million tourism economy.

As has been the custom in recent years, DOT on Nov. 14 closed for the winter a two-mile section of the parkway's western end. The move saves as much as $70,000 a year.

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com