Buffalo and Erie County Greenway Fund Standing Committee Awards $800,000 to Erie County
ERIE COUNTY, NY— The Buffalo and Erie County Greenway Fund Standing Committee (“BECGFSC”) has awarded Erie County a total of $800,000 to improve access to the Niagara River and Greenway with $450,000 for Phase III of the Isle View Park Enhancement project and $350,000 for the Two Mile Creek and Sherwood Trail Revitalization project. The BECGFSC invested a total of $2.6 million in six local projects with this round of funding.
“These awards will help to enhance these parks and trail resources for today and for the future, protecting and improving these natural spaces for all to enjoy. We are stewards of these areas and need to do all we can to preserve them, and I thank our partners at the Niagara River Greenway Commission and the New York Power Authority for joining us in doing that,” said County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz.
Erie County has secured approximately $8.3 million for past project phases at Isle View Park including support from the BECGFSC, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and NYS Department of State. Design for Phase III is envisioned to begin June 2026 and construction September 2026.
The Isle View Enhancement Project will focus on the reconstruction and enhancement of connections to the Shoreline Trail within Isle View Park. Phase III will enhance the Park by resurfacing the south parking lot and the Park access road, resurfacing connecting trails to the Shoreline Trail throughout the Park, and making miscellaneous landscape improvements to improve vehicle, pedestrian, and bicyclist access.
“Isle View Park and the Shoreline Trail are among the most heavily used park-and-trail systems in Western New York, and as connecting features of the Niagara River Greenway, they provide an integral public access ribbon along the Niagara River,” said Erie County Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Forestry Troy P. Schinzel. “Isle View provides unparalleled access to the water and is home to the only known Domestic Violence Tribute Garden in the country. It is a lovely and peaceful park, and it continues to improve.”
Two Mile Creek Trail and Sherwood Greenway Trail (totaling approximately four miles) connect trails to the Niagara River Greenway and Shoreline Trail. The Revitalization project will design, repair, and resurface the existing trails and associated trail elements and amenities. This includes signage, benches, trash receptacles, crosswalks, pedestrian signals, retaining walls, removal/replacement of trees, and enhancement of miscellaneous elements of the Two Mile Creek and Sherwood Greenway Trails.
Deputy County Executive Lisa Chimera said, “These trails provide integral public access connecting the Town and City of Tonawanda to the waterfront and the Shoreline Trail regional multi-use trail system. I’d like to thank my colleagues on the Niagara River Greenway Commission and the BECGFSC for their continued commitment to implementing the vision of the Niagara River Greenway Plan.”
Phase 1 of the Revitalization project is anticipated to include the segment within Veterans Park in the City of Tonawanda, subject to the engineer's assessment in design.
For more information:
On the Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, visit https://www3.erie.gov/parks/
On the New York Power Authority, visit https://www.nypa.gov/about/the-new-york-power-authority
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