Medina seeks community feedback about reimagined waterfront

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 January 2019 at 10:31 am

MEDINA – The Village of Medina is hosting a public discussion and interactive session on Wednesday about the future of waterfront sites in Medina.

The Wednesday meeting on “Reimagining Our Waterfront” will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Medina United Methodist Church, the former Apple Grove at 11004 West Center St.

Community leaders welcome feedback from residents about how to better utilize the Erie Canal, Oak Orchard Creek and Glenwood Lake. The public is welcome to share ideas and visionary projects for Medina.

A committee has been working on a waterfront plan for Medina. The village has sizable open spaces near the canal, Glenwood Lake and the Oak Orchard.

The Village of Medina has initiated a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program to better utilize the waterfront for economic development, recreation and tourism.

The village received a state grant to cover most of the cost of the project to develop the waterfront program. That plan is expected to be finished in mid-2019, in time for Medina to apply for funding for state grants.

Some of the committee members see improved public access to the Medina Waterfalls as a top priority. Those waterfalls are currently dangerous for the public to access. The waterfalls are visible from the towpath by the canal, but a better vantage point could make the falls a bigger attraction for Medina.

The group also said the waterfront plan should include more amenities by the Canal Basin, including more lighting to make the area feel safer in the evening and at night.

The waterfront plan also can offer ways to better connect Medina’s downtown and some of the other historic sites in the community to the waterfront. Some committee members say a better developed trail system, linking the waterfront assets, should be developed.

Specifically, residents and committee members at a recent meeting noted projects that would boost Medina could include a brewery in the Canal Basin, a community center in Medina, and more backside facades such as the one at Fitzgibbons Public House that faces the canal.

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