ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- The Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, also called the LWRP, is part of a statewide program. It aims to address local and regional waterway issues, while also spurring economic growth and tourism. On Monday night, community members gathered at the Clemens Center to weigh in on the plan for Elmira's LWRP.
"Hopefully, we're going to decide the goals tonight, and its going to be a collaborative effort with the city, and the county, and the local community to identify what we really want to see for the waterfront for the five to ten year scope," said Alison Herman, the grants manager for Chemung County.
The waterfront encompasses most of the City of Elmira. At the meeting, neighbors could walk around and highlight their ideas for the area with post-it notes. The most popular ideas being adding green space, expanding walking and biking trails, and investing in arts and education spaces.
"I've written about creating more educational opportunities in those areas. I know grove street boat launch has a lot of green space that's open, putting some sort of like park or educational information tabs or something to that effect there to enhance those existing structures," said Caitlynn McConnell, an attendee. "The area is kind of small within the bounds of the city, and not all of it is accessible on foot. So using the areas that are already there and just building on top of those, I think adding the educational component will be really, really useful."
All of the data gathered will be compiled and taken into consideration for the plans. The expected time frame for drafting and adoption of this plan is two to three years. Officials say they were awarded about $85,000 from the New York Department of State for this project.
"I think its really worth noting that this project is really going to open up a lot of department of state grants specific to the waterfront and specific to this program. I'm really excited to see what this is going to look like at the end of the scope," said Herman.
A second meeting will be scheduled for sometime in December. For those who would like to fill out a survey to provide their input, click here.