VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Onondaga County Greenways and Blueways Grant Announcement
Dhani Joseph: At the Marriott Syracuse Downtown hotel, the Onondaga County Planning Federation held its 36th annual planning Symposium today. During the first afternoon session of the event, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon (Mik-Man) announced a new grant program for development of greenways and blueways in the county.
Ryan McMahon: This is a piece of our comprehensive plan implementation recognizing that we have tremendous assets and natural assets, and how we can continue to afford those to create access for the residents, but also visitors. So we’re really excited about the process. We invest a lot in our own parks and our own waterways. We love villages and towns in the city to look at ways that they can do it as well, and that’s why we’re offering this grant program.
Joseph: Greenways include trails for biking, walking and other recreational outdoor spaces connecting people and the communities. Blueways, on the other hand, are designated water spaces for activities like kayaking and wildlife viewing. For Mike Gunther, a member of the Town of Salina Zoning Board, he sees the grant as a way to bring people together.
Mike Gunther: Getting them to interconnect so that people can go from one area to another and actually have interaction with businesses that aren’t normally associated with a path or a trail so they can get to the communities and businesses.
Joseph: The maximum amount per project will be $50,000. If there is a project considered to be of regional significance, the maximum award will be increased to $120,000. Paul Steely White, the executive director of Parks and Trails in New York, wants to make sure this money goes to the right projects versus being dispersed elsewhere.
Paul Steely White: Make sure it’s as equitable as it can be. Because after all the money spent and everything’s said and done, it will really be a shame if we end up with a lot of big warehouses and fancy jobs and none of that really made it to the people who live here now and the people who will live here for generations.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — During the Onondaga County Planning Federation’s 36th Annual Planning Symposium, county executive Ryan McMahon Announced a new grant program. The program will alot funding for projects that will expand greenways and blueways within the community.
“This is a piece of our comprehensive plan implementation recognizing that we have tremendous assets and natural assets, and how we can continue to afford those to create access for the residents, but also visitors. So we’re really excited about the process,” McMahon said after the announcement.
“We invest a lot in our own parks and our own waterways. We love villages and towns in the city to look at ways that they can do it as well, and that’s why we’re offering this grant program.”
Greenways include trails for biking, walking and other recreational outdoor spaces connecting people and their communities. Blueways, on the other hand, are designated water spaces for activities like kayaking and wildlife viewing.
Mike Gunther, a member of the Town of Salina Zoning Board, believes the grant provides an opportunity to bring people and communities together.
“Getting them to interconnect so that people can go from one area to another and actually have interaction with businesses that aren’t normally associated with a path or a trail so they can get to the communities and businesses,” Gunther said.
Grant funds may be used for projects such as, but are not limited to, greenways and blueways, planning and design, expanding and diversifying those pathways, and improving safety and ease of access.
The maximum amount per project will be $50,000. If there is a project considered to be of regional significance, the maximum award will be increased to $120,000.
Paul Steely White, the executive director of Parks and Trails in New York, made a point to regional board members to make sure that these funds go to the right resources and projects versus the wrong ones.
“Make sure it’s as equitable as it can be,” White said. “Because after all the money spent and everything’s said and done, it will really be a shame if we end up with a lot of big warehouses and fancy jobs and none of that really made it to the people who live here now and the people who will live here for generations.”
Additionally, Onondaga County issued an RFP, or a request for proposal, to develop a county-wide greenways and blueways plan. The goal of the plan would offer a strategic vision for protecting, maintaining, and enhancing the natural amenities and corridors Onondaga has to offer.