On the evening of March 6, the Village of Brockport hosted a public information meeting with the NYS Canal Corporation at the A.D. Oliver Middle School Auditorium to discuss their clear-cutting along the canal embankment in Brockport and, moving forward, to focus on the remediation plan for it. The well-attended event included elected officials from the Village of Brockport and Town of Sweden, the Villages of Spencerport, Holley, and Albion, and the Town of Murray, along with representatives from the legislative offices of Senator Ortt and Assemblyman Hawley.
“In Brockport, we have a large number of homes that are directly below the canal embankment – some 70 properties. Any failure of that embankment would endanger not only village residents, but those residing beyond them. This was a necessary public safety action,” Mayor Margay Blackman stated.
The village will work with the Canal Corporation until the project is finished, and has requested that: 1) the arborist they hire be available to consult with Brockport homeowners about appropriate plantings on property lines to provide privacy; 2) the Canal Corp assume the cost of those plantings; 3) when the time comes to discuss options for low growing vegetation on the cleared embankment, the Canal Corp engage a local nursery to advise on embankment plantings; and, 4) the Canal Corp work with the village to identify and develop several public access points to the canal path.
Members of the audience had an opportunity to ask questions and to meet with Canal Corp personnel on a one-to-one basis following the meeting. The village anticipates this as the first of several more meetings as the project progresses. A complete video of the meeting will be posted on the village’s website next week.
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