Members of the Syracuse community celebrated the opening of the Onondaga Creekwalk, a public trail that connects Armory Square to Onondaga Lake along Onondaga Creek.

Instead of celebrating the event with a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, organizers inaugurated the Creekwalk by inviting residents to ride their bikes along the 2.6-mile trail Oct. 25. Representatives from Onondaga County, the city of Syracuse and the Armory Square Association attended.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner opened the event by highlighting the importance of the Creekwalk for the community.

‘One of our most inherent strengths is the strength of our neighborhood and the people that live here,’ she said, ‘and it’s by connecting strong neighborhoods in our city, in bringing people the ability to see our city from different vantage points, that we can grow together and connect together.’

Miner thanked Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney for her leadership in looking at Onondaga Lake and Onondaga Creek as an asset and using them ‘as a place to think about our past and our future, and to enjoy, rather than as a conduit for our ‘floatables.”

The county has focused on making the Creekwalk even more sustainable through the installation of ‘green infrastructure’ like porous pavement in the parking areas and rain gardens along the trail. These improvements will help capture more than 254,000 gallons of rainwater a year, according to Save the Rain’s website, a project led by Onondaga County.

‘Using green components as well has really energized this community,’ Mahoney said.

Not only does the Creekwalk open a new recreation area for Syracuse residents, it also offers a safe way for alternative and more environmentally friendly forms of transportation such as biking and walking.

The completion of the Onondaga Creekwalk was made possible through an alliance between the city and the county. Construction to connect the existing paths around the Inner Harbor and Franklin Square into a single unified trail began two years ago, Miner said, but the original idea for the Creekwalk came about decades ago.

Andrew Maxwell, director of planning and sustainability for the city, said the idea for the Creekwalk began in the 1960s at Syracuse’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Youth Programs. The project has two more phases, which would extend the trail to the southern border of the city. The first of these phases would reach Kirk Park, and the second one would finalize the Creekwalk at Dorwin Avenue, he said.

Those who live and work in downtown Syracuse said they couldn’t wait for the inauguration. Carolyn Lee, an advertising sales assistant at The Post-Standard, visited the Creekwalk as soon as it opened.

‘I loved the Creekwalk. The trail was beautiful,’ she said. ‘I walked with my two co-workers, Mallory and Dacie, on our lunch break. We made it all the way from The Post-Standard to Carousel Mall and back in an hour.’

Lee and her co-workers Mallory Brown and Dacie Dusseault plan to continue using the Creekwalk during their lunch breaks. They agreed some improvements still need to be made, especially on the cross that connects Franklin Square to the Inner Harbor. 

‘That part of the walk isn’t clearly marked, and a lot of drivers fly through that area really quickly,’ Brown said.

Heather Helman, a junior environmental studies major at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, welcomes the idea of the trail, but she said she believes the Creekwalk needs to be promoted better.

‘I think it opens up the creek definitely a lot more; it’s more accessible,’ Helman said.

‘But I don’t think that what the city is trying to do has been well publicized.’

vymagan@syr.edu

Published on October 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm