Cape Vincent residents get first look at $3.8 million East End Park renovation plans

Last week, BCA Architects & Engineers representatives Michael Alteri and Naomi Gallagher presented four designs to Cape Vincent residents at Recreation Park Hall. Mr. Alteri is the principal engineer for the project, and Mrs. Gallagher is the project manager.

“We wanted to review these improvements with you today, because that is where you’re going to see the biggest bang for your buck,” Mr. Alteri said to the roughly 25 people gathered.

Both the east and west sides of the park along the St. Lawrence River will be redesigned, with new floating docks, parking lots, seawall reconstruction and a deep-water dock for cruise ships.

For the western side of the park, engineers presented a single plan, calling for a large floating dock, about 400 feet long that extends about 50 feet into the water, with space for cruise ships, tour boats and other large vessels.

The existing seawall at the west side of the park would be taken back a few feet, and vegetation would be added along the shoreline to reduce erosion and protect the shoreline.

On the eastern side of the park, engineers presented one master plan for the marine development, with three options for parking.

Crews will renovate the existing bulkhead that juts out between the parks two boat launches, adding parking space and green areas. Off the eastern end of the bulkhead, designers plan to install a wave attenuator, roughly 215 feet long, to protect docked boats from the worst of the waves.

“That’s going to be a structure with composite decking, and then it has concrete below it, that’s what’s actually going to protect from the waves,” Mrs. Gallagher said.

Behind the attenuator, engineers plan to remove the existing wooden fixed dock, and replace it with an aluminum floating dock in a different configuration that will offer extra wave protection.

The engineers and village Mayor Jerry D. Golden said replacing the wooden dock with a floating dock will present a number of advantages. When cold weather comes, the floating docks can be removed, so ice doesn’t damage them and snowmobilers don’t accidentally run over the cleats when riding along the shoreline. The BCA engineers presented three parking lot designs. Each option would take up roughly the same amount of space, but the number of entrances and the configuration of the spaces inside the lot all varied.

One option, described as a favorite by town officials, calls for a roundabout, with angled trailer parking along the southern side of the lot and the elimination of one of the two existing lot entrances. The lot would include space for over 30 passenger vehicles and at least 15 boat trailers, with an additional 15 spaces on the renovated bulkhead.

The village residents in attendance expressed concern over that parking configuration, and suggested it would be difficult for people with trailers, especially inexperienced drivers, to pull into the larger spots set aside for trailer parking.

Mr. Alteri said it would be possible to reassess the angle at which the trailer parking is laid out, but in his experience operating a trailer, the roundabout option would be one of the easiest options to navigate.

Mrs. Gallagher said the roundabout option presented the most space for maneuvering with a trailer out of all three options.

The other two parking lot design options presented maintained the two lot entrances currently in place. One option placed the trailer parking along the eastern side of the lot, with space for eight trailers and 15 cars in the lot, plus the additional 15 spaces on the bulkhead. The final option provided 12 trailer parking spaces, open at the front and back, and at least 25 passenger vehicle spaces in the lot.

Mayor Golden said all three options present much more parking space than is currently available at the park.

Mr. Alteri said that his team has received most of the required permits to begin work, but the layout of the official federal shipping channel requires that they apply for another permit before work on the eastern side can begin.

“On the east side, the channel comes into the village’s water space,” he said. “That’s going to require an extra level of permitting.”

Work is expected to begin in the fall of 2021, and continue until spring 2023. Mr. Alteri said plans currently call for phased development, with a majority of the work done during the off season to reduce the impact on tourism.

“This is probably a one season primary construction effort, and then I see a contractor having to come in to address things afterwards, when the warranty period is still in place,” he said.

Mayor Golden said the village is planning to use a combination of REDI grant money, Federal Emergency Management Agency grants, village funds and in-kind services to pay for the renovations.

“The funding is not 100 percent in place yet,” he said.

Mayor Golden said the plans are currently about 60% complete, which is the first milestone where municipalities are required to report their plans to the state for REDI projects.