In response to a proposal to modify the Route 3 Wave on the Black River (NY) that surfaced several years ago, American Whitewater advocated (through meetings, letters, and emails) that the City of Watertown hire an independent consultant to take a broader look at the potential whitewater park locations in their city, and to gather public input on any proposed actions. The City has done just that. They hired Recreational Engineering and Planning (REP) to study the entire length of the Black River through Watertown, and to make recommendations for recreational enhancements.
REP will be presenting the results of their study at a public meeting and workshop at the Watertown City Hall on March 17th, at 7:00 pm. It is very important that Black River paddlers attend this meeting and offer their opinions regarding the proposed actions. It appears that at this time REP is not proposing to modify Route 3, and instead proposes to work on enhancing other areas of the Black River Corridor to enhance aesthetics, safety, and playboating opportunities. The paddling community is finally getting an objective analysis of this issue/opportunity, and we hope that boaters will take the time to submit comments on the plan.
Some draft sketches of the proposed changes can be viewed at: http://www.wwparks.com/blackriver.htm. Comments can be submitted via email, or at the March 17th meeting. It is difficult to tell exactly what is being proposed by viewing the sketches alone, so we encourage paddlers to attend the meeting.
We would like to thank the City of Watertown for listening to the paddling community’s concerns regarding the modification of the Route 3 Wave. What began as a controversy has become a major opportunity for everyone involved. AW volunteers Nancy Weal and Steve Kittleberger both played a large and very positive role in bringing this issue to its current point. It isn’t over though, and it is time for individual paddlers to get involved.