Organizers want your feedback on plans for High Falls State Park

A new state park is being developed at Rochester’s High Falls, and organizers want your feedback on its design.

Lorna Wright, the Executive Director of Genessee Land Trust , a nonprofit focused on protecting and preserving the lands and waters of the greater Rochester region, said public input will be crucial in building the new High Falls park.

So the Trust is helping the Community Design Center Rochester to plan a public input session on Saturday, May 4, to be held at the MCC downtown campus. Wright says the goal is to give locals an opportunity to envision the park they want.

Wright has high hopes for how the design could elevate the lives of locals who live and work in the High Falls area.

"I hope that there are different access points to the river so that people from all neighborhoods can get into the park," she said, "that there are some natural areas restored from the river, and, right at river level, that there are some good viewing platforms to be at the base of High Falls."

The park spans 40 acres within Rochester's city limits, extending from High Falls northward to just past the Bausch and Lomb Bridge.

There, an old railroad trestle is being converted into a pedestrian pathway.

In February, state officials announced they were seeking a design firm to create the blueprint for the park. The firm is expected to be confirmed by mid-May.