Myers Park improvement project gets state boost

Earlier this month, Lansing Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne announced that the town’s Parks and Recreation Department has been awarded a $750,000 grant by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation to help fund the Myers Park Revitalization Project.

According to LaVigne’s announcement, planned improvements for Myers Park include upgraded courts and boat launch; RV and campsite improvements; circulation, access, parking and utility upgrades; the construction of a new unisex and ADA- and family-accessible restroom facility at the campgrounds; upgrades to the septic system reducing runoff into Cayuga Lake; and a new ADA-accessible kayak launch for access to the Cayuga Lake Blueway Trail.

Myers Park has a long history in Lansing, with the land having been donated by the International Salt Plant in 1959. Since then, the park has gone through many improvements, but the Myers Park Revitalization Project began just a few years ago.

According to LaVigne, in 2018 and 2019, the town applied for funding to improve the park through the state’s Environmental Protection Fund but was unsuccessful both years. So, the town created the Town of Lansing Parks, Recreation and Trails Advisory Committee.

The committee was tasked with advising the Parks and Recreation Department and Town Board on “all matters pertaining to or affecting the coordination, oversight, acquisition, development, funding and programming of the parks, recreation and trail system,” according to LaVigne’s announcement.

The town then brought in MJ Engineering and Land Surveying and PLACE Alliance, who worked with Lansing’s Planning and Parks and Recreation departments to come up with a draft plan to improve Myers Park. Together, local leaders “sought to rethink physical spaces and programming opportunities; reconnect physically within the town’s park, visually to the waterfront and programmatically for the community; and to refocus activities within Myers Park to maximize the space and focus on the pedestrian realm,” the release said.

Project leaders sent out an online survey and held two virtual workshops to facilitate plenty of feedback from town residents, which helped to shape the specifics of the plan.

Currently, the Myers Park Revitalization Project is in its design phase, with a goal for beginning preliminary construction this fall.

Myers Park is already a beloved community gathering spot, and the Revitalization Project is set to make it an even better community resource, said Pat Tyrrell, Lansing Parks and Recreation supervisor.

“There’s much more recreational opportunities with all the projects, from trails to parks and recreation,” he said. “There’s a lot, probably a lot of trails built and some new structures, some new bathrooms. … Once it’s finalized, I think people will be happy with the final product.”

While the project has plenty of community support, getting it done won’t be a simple process. For one, the state’s $750,000 boost only covers some of the design and planning budget. Though the project’s overall budget hasn’t been finalized, Tyrrell estimates the cost to be “in the millions,” meaning the state’s grant leaves a lot for the town to cover.

“It’s going to be a real challenge to get to that number,” he said. “The initial grant went through, and the initial cost was about $4.9 [million]. Obviously, with inflation, everything [has] skyrocketed, building materials and everything. … So, I think people are going to have a misconception that that $750,000 is going to do a lot of construction, where it’s really not; it’s more for planning and development.”

Tyrrell said that the Parks and Recreation Department will be working with the Town Board in the coming months to discuss ways to fill that gap, including the possibility for more grants and bond funding. Because so much of that is uncertain right now, Tyrrell said meeting the construction start goal of this fall is “possible” but “not probable.”

“It is the cost and how much labor we’re actually going to have to provide,” he explained. “There’s a lot of in-kind in the grant as well that we have to provide. … So, it is possible, but I’m not super optimistic.”

In the meantime, Myers Park is enjoying the high increase in visitor attendance that began in the early stages of the pandemic, Tyrrell said.

“Initially, we thought it was going to impact us with decreased attendance, and it actually was the opposite effect,” he said. “We have an increase in attendance and just overall usage of our facilities. People had time off, and so they were looking for things to do that they could do outside during the pandemic. So, our usage has gone up probably tenfold from what it was. It’s been amazing. If you drive by Myers or Ludlowville, the parking lots are always packed with people. It used to be kind of slow during the week, and it would be busy on weekends, but now, it’s busy most of the time.”

For more information about the Revitalization Project, visit lansingparksandtrailsplan.com. To learn more about the Parks and Recreation Department, visit lansingrec.com.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

TCAT public hearing

The TCAT Board of Directors will hold a virtual public meeting Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. to gather public feedback on the portion of TCAT’s final 2020-2021 Transit Development Plan (TDP) that proposes service reductions for route 30 in Cayuga Heights and routes 36 and 37 in Lansing.

For Lansing, the TDP proposes the elimination of service north of Lansing schools for route 36 and service north of Lansing Town Hall for route 37. These service reductions are proposed due to low ridership on those corridors, though they have already been in effect since summer 2021 as part of TCAT’s pandemic-related emergency service adjustments.

Written feedback on only the TDP’s proposed service reductions will be accepted until the end of business day Feb. 11 and can be emailed to TCAT at tcat@tcatmail.com. Please write “TDP feedback” in the subject line. Comments can also be mailed via the postal services to TCAT, 737 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850, write Attn: TDP feedback. The public can also comment via phone by calling (607) 277-9388, ext. 560.

All public comments regarding the service reductions will be collected and provided to the TCAT Board members before their final consideration at a date to be determined following the Feb. 11 public comment deadline. TCAT decided to extend the deadline to enable more time for riders to give input and for TCAT staff to compile responses for the board’s perusal.

To participate in the Jan. 27 virtual public hearing starting at 4 p.m., see Zoom meeting information at tcatbus.com/tdp-2020/2021.