Seaway Trail Corridor Management Plan 04-05-05
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his is the story of the place where the sun sinks into the water; it is the story of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail in Erie County, Pennsylvania. T It takes its name from the first settlers of the Seaway Trail - hunter/gatherers called the Eriez. The Eriez paddled far into the spectacular sunsets on the Lake Erie horizon, looking for the place where the sun sinks into the water. According to their legend, the Great Spirit stretched out his left arm to protect his Eriez children from a great storm that came up over the lake, thus forming Presque Isle. Its protected bay gave the French, British and finally the Americans a secure place to construct their forts. It was also the perfect spot for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry to construct his fleet for the assault on the British at Put-In Bay during the War of 1812. But the protective arm of the Presque Isle peninsula couldn’t shield the crew of the US Brig Niagara from the weather during the awful winter that followed. This arm of the Great Spirit has embraced tremendous bounty and great hardship on Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. International commerce and manufacturing defined the good times on the lakefront in Pennsylvania in the 19th and early 20th centuries. But the northeast of the nation declined after World War II and economic hard times and harsh environmental realities descended. Rather than go quietly to where the sun sinks into the water, the region has determined to make itself anew. The Seaway Trail’s heritage, recreation and tourism resources are central to this renewal. This is the future of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail in Pennsylvania - where the sun sinks into the water. SEAWAY TRAIL PENNSYLVANIA CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE David Skellie, Chair Jake Welsh, Project Manager Emily Beck Tom Fuhrman Ed Lesser Don Benczkowski Mariah Hanson Tom Maggio David Bossart Diana Hatfield John Mason David Dennis Ed Kissell Jeff Spaulding Ann DiTullio Melanie Kuebel Frieda Tarbell Kelly Edwards Mark Kulich Mark Weber Bill Felege Harry Leslie March 2005 Prepared By: peter j. smith & company, inc. Buffalo, NY Fort Erie, Ontario This report was financed, in part, by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT), and the County of Erie, through the Erie MPO Unified Planning Work Program. Photo credits: The following provided photos for this Corridor Management Plan Pages 4, 8, 17, 25, 33, 62, 63 (top), 122 (top), 125 (middle and bottom) Courtesy of Erie Maritime Museum Page 55 Courtesy of Pennsylvania Sea Grant Pages 68 (top), 71, 131 Courtesy of North East Chamber of Commerce Pages 67 and 122 (bottom) Erie Times News © Used by permission Page 118 (top) Courtesy Erie Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Page 122 (second from top) Courtesy of Pennsylvania DCNR SEAWAY TRAIL PENNSYLVANIA CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No 1.0 Introduction ....................................................................... 1 1.1 The Future of the Trail ............................................................ 1 1.2 Background......................................................................... 2 1.3 Purpose of the Plan ................................................................ 3 1.4 The Seaway Trail Experience...................................................... 4 1.5 Enhancing the Seaway Trail Experience .......................................... 5 1.6 Interpreting the Seaway Trail Experience ........................................ 7 1.7 The Seaway Trail Corridor......................................................... 8 1.8 Management Plan and Methodology.............................................. 11 1.9 Goals and Objectives ............................................................. 12 2.0 Building the Future ..............................................................17 2.1 Futures Plan....................................................................... 18 2.1.1 Springfield Township.............................................................. 19 2.1.2 Lake City/Girard Boroughs ....................................................... 20 2.1.3 Fairview Township ................................................................ 21 2.1.4 Millcreek Township ............................................................... 22 2.1.5 Presque Isle State Park ........................................................... 22 2.1.6 City of Erie ? Bayfront Portion................................................... 23 2.1.7 City of Erie ? Downtown Portion................................................. 26 2.1.8 Lawrence Park Township ......................................................... 26 2.1.9 Harborcreek Township............................................................ 27 2.1.10 North East Township .............................................................. 27 2.2 Implementation Matrix ........................................................... 31 3.0 Interpreting the Seaway Trail...................................................39 3.1 History On the Water ............................................................. 40 3.1.1 French and Indian War/War of 1812 ............................................. 40 3.2 History Beside the Water ......................................................... 43 3.2.1 Three Flags/Three Forts.......................................................... 43 3.3 History and Recreation In the Water............................................. 44 3.3.1 Shipwrecks, Underwater Attractions and Diving................................. 44 3.4 History On and Beside the Water................................................. 45 3.4.1 Commerce & Industry............................................................. 45 3.5 History On and Beside the Water................................................. 46 3.5.1 Transportation .................................................................... 46 3.6 History In the Water .............................................................. 47 3.6.1 Degradation and Reclamation of the Ecology of Lake Erie...................... 47 3.7 Recreation On and Beside the Water............................................. 48 3.7.1 Swimming/Floating, Boating, Sailing, Hunting &Fishing ........................ 48 3.8 Recreation Beside the Water..................................................... 49 3.8.1 Viewing Fauna and Flora / Hiking, Biking, Walking and Skiing.................. 49 4.0 Managing the Seaway Trail ......................................................51 4.1 The Byway Experience............................................................ 51 iii 4.2 Management and Coordination ................................................... 52 4.2.1 Relationship with Seaway Trail, Inc. ............................................. 52 4.2.2 Stewardship of the Seaway Trail ................................................. 54 4.3 Funding and Financial Resources................................................. 56 5.0 Seaway Trail Marketing ..........................................................57 5.1 Byway Participation: Opportunities and Barriers ................................ 57 5.2 Linkages with Other Scenic Byways .............................................. 59 5.3 Existing Seaway Trail Programs .................................................. 59 5.4 Seaway Trail Marketing Opportunities ........................................... 61 5.5 Serving Seaway Trail Visitors ..................................................... 63 5.5.1 Accommodating International Visitors ........................................... 63 5.5.2 Accommodating Handicapped Visitors ........................................... 63 5.6 Tourism in Pennsylvania .......................................................... 64 5.6.1 Existing Tourism Base............................................................. 64 5.6.2 Tourism Overview................................................................. 65 5.6.3 Tourism Economic Impact ........................................................ 65 5.6.4 Pennsylvania Leisure Travelers................................................... 67 5.7 Statewide Marketing Strategy.................................................... 70 6.0 Existing Conditions on the Seaway Trail .......................................73 6.1 Route .............................................................................. 73 6.2 The People of the Seaway Trail .................................................. 75 6.2.1 Adjacent Communities............................................................ 75 6.3 Demographic Overview ........................................................... 76 6.3.1 Population......................................................................... 77 6.4 Economic Overview ............................................................... 78 6.4.1 Industry and Occupation of Employment ........................................ 80 6.5 Economic Development Response ................................................ 81 7.0 Seaway Trail Road Characteristics..............................................85 7.1 The Land .......................................................................... 85 7.1.1 Current Land Use ................................................................. 85 7.1.2 Zoning ............................................................................. 86 7.2 The Road .......................................................................... 87 7.2.1 Distance from the Water ........................................................