Canal Corp. will discuss next phase of embankment maintenance at June 6 meeting
Photo by Tom Rivers: Tree stumps line the towpath in Albion after trees were cut down last fall. This photo was taken on Nov. 16.
ALBION – Representatives from the state Canal Corporation will be in Albion on June 6 to detail the next phases of “Embankment Maintenance” program.
A contractor late last year started cutting down trees near the Orleans-Niagara county line and headed east. The felled trees were removed but the stumps remain. The tree-clearing alarmed many local residents and elected officials who preferred a tree-lined towpath.
Canal Corporation officials said the tree roots threatened to integrity of the canal walls and made the system vulnerable to leaks.
The June 6 meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hoag Library, 134 S. Main St.
During a meeting in Brockport in March, Canal Corp. officials told Brockport residents the state agency would hire arborists to consult with Brockport homeowners about appropriate property lines to provide privacy, with the Canal Corp. paying the cost.
The Canal Corp. also said it would do low-growing vegetation on the cleared embankment, and will work with Brockport to identify and develop several public access points along the canal path.
The tree stumps also will be removed and the banks will become grassy slopes that will be mowed, the Canal Corp. said.
Officials from Orleans County and its canal communities have been pushing for a public meeting in Orleans County to update the community about the next steps of the embankment maintenance.
