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CITY OF LOCKPORT, NY – Parks & Trails New York (PTNY), in partnership with the NYS Canal Corporation, has selected the City of Lockport as one of three provisional Trail Towns for 2023. The three selected communities will work with PTNY and be given the tools to more effectively harness visitation to the 360-mile Erie Canalway Trail, the east-west leg of the 750-mile Empire State Trail. By supporting and promoting the City of Lockport as a premier destination for cyclists, the program seeks to create long-term economic, health, and quality of life benefits for the entire community and surrounding area.
The Empire State Trail Town program was established in 2022 with Brockport as a pilot community. The three selected communities for 2023 will be the next communities involved in the program. Over the next 9 months, the provisional Trail Towns will work with PTNY to develop a network of local partners committed to the Trail Town initiative, conduct research and assessment, develop promotional resources and strategies, and create and adopt an action agenda to guide future Trail Town work. Upon completion of the program, the selected communities will be recognized as certified Empire State Trail Towns. Work to be completed will follow the 2023 Empire State Trail Town Handbook, available at www.ptny.org/estt.
With the completion of the Empire State Trail in 2020, the Erie Canalway Trail— the east-west leg of the statewide system— is growing in popularity and is a world-class destination, attracting visitors from all over the world. An economic impact study completed by PTNY in 2014 showed that the ECT attracts nearly 1.6 million annual visits and generates over $250 million in annual economic impact. Trail use figures from 2022 estimate that the Erie Canalway Trail draws over 3.3 million visits per year.
There will be opportunities for community members to get involved throughout the year, including volunteer opportunities to count trail users throughout the summer, a community placemaking workshop to be held in-person during the first full week of June, and a welcome celebration for the Cycle the Erie Canal bike tour when it passes through during the week of July 9-16.
By being selected to participate in the Empire State Trail Town program, the City of Lockport is joining a network of communities along the Empire State Trail that recognize the value of the trail as both an enhancement to quality of life for residents and driver of economic growth.
To learn more about Empire State Trail Towns, visit ptny.org/ESTT
City of Lockport Mayor, Michelle Roman, stated, “Stewardship of the Erie Canal is rooted in Lockport’s heritage and is essential to our community’s future economic growth. We are proud to be selected by Parks & Trails New York to work towards being designated as an Empire State Trail Town, and are thankful to the PTNY team for this opportunity. As a community, the Trail Town designation will help us create new ways to present Lockport as an Erie Canal gateway, to visitors and local residents alike.”
Parks & Trails New York Executive Director Paul Steely White said, “We are thrilled to be working with the City of Lockport as a provisional Empire State Trail Town this year. Lockport has demonstrated a real commitment to the Erie Canal’s interpretive storytelling through the “Flight of Five” locks restoration project, and has repositioned itself as a tourism destination. We look forward to helping the City leverage its strong partnerships, prioritize safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians, and build on its location along the Empire State Trail.”
“The Canal Corporation looks forward to working with the City of Lockport to bring New Yorkers a revamped Empire State Trail experience,” said New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton. “Home to the celebrated Flight of Five locks, the city welcomes hundreds of tourists, cyclists, and pedestrians from across New York State each year. We’re excited to support Lockport in their ongoing commitment to the historic preservation and economic investment in their iconic canals lock district. As a provisional Empire State Trail town, Lockport will be elevated as a tourist destination, building networks that preserve the future of the trails, as well as driving support to the businesses anchored along the Erie Canal. We are eager to see the opportunities to experience our beautiful canals and trailways that await incoming visitors.”
About Parks & Trails New York
Parks & Trails New York is the state’s leading advocate for parks and trails. Since 1998, PTNY has been working in partnership with the New York State Canal Corporation to help canal communities plan, develop and promote the Canalway Trail. PTNY organizes Cycle the Erie Canal, an eight-day bicycle tour along the historic Erie Canal that attracts more than 650 participants each year. The organization also publishes the popular guidebook, Cycling the Erie Canal: A Guide to 360 miles of Adventure and History along the Erie Canalway Trail. Learn more at www.ptny.org.
About the New York State Canal System
The New York State Canal Corporation runs the New York State Canal System, which includes the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca canals. Spanning 524 miles, the waterway links the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain. In 2017, the Canal Corporation celebrated the 200th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the Erie Canal, which occurred in the city of Rome on July 4, 1817. The Canal System includes the Canalway Trail, a network of approximately 400 miles of multi-use trails across upstate New York. The Canalway Trail follows the towpaths of both active and historic sections of the New York State Canal System as well as adjacent abandoned rail corridors. Together, the canals and trail create a world-class recreationway that is a vibrant, scenic, and unique New York resource. To learn more about the New York State Canal and Canalway Trail System or to obtain a free map, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit the Canal Corporation’s website at www.canals.ny.gov.
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