Getting to Know our Partners - OPRHP
What distinguishes the Genesee Valley Greenway effort is the partnership of FOGVG, DEC, and OPRHP. But who are the persons behind that general term DEC or OPRHP? This is the second in a series of interviews to find that out. For the summer newsletter, I chatted with the DEC Operations Crew. This time I talked with Dave Herring and Jerry Kunselman, professional engineers with OPRHP. As Associate Park Engineer for the entire Genesee Region, Dave directs engineering and design for the Greenway and all the parks in the region. Jerry Kunselman devotes most of his time to the Greenway. Fran G.
I began by asking the men to describe their role in the Greenway project. Dave quickly responded, "We try to work as a team with DEC, FOGVG, and the public. The public is part of the team." He added that as engineers for the project their primary function was to provide technical assistance to input received from FOGVG, DEC, and the public and coordinate all of that with regulatory and environmental concerns and design standards, in order to arrive at reasonable and cost effective solutions. Dave cited as an example the recent discussions among DEC, OPRHP, DOT, FOGVG, and persons with disabilities, devoted to arriving at a trail design that would reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities at locations such as the trail road crossings at Routes 5 and 383 and provide access to the Keshequa Gorge, given limited funding and the ways in which man and nature have created steep slopes, washouts, and other obstacles.
According to Jerry, "What we're doing is trying to maintain the character of a natural resource, modified somewhat by man, to make it ultimately more usable, given severe cost constraints. It comes down to trying to anticipate the effects of any changes you make. We work on things from routine maintenance to building bridges, making sure we don't cut any existing gas lines or damage noble trees."
I asked the men what has been the greatest challenge in their work with the Greenway. Dave responded, "I don't see many technical challenges. Most things are straight forward with the options we've proposed. The Rockville Lake outlet area in Allegany County presents some problems with trail construction (because of the numerous washouts), but the proposed acquisition of the adjacent Erie River Line Railroad bed is a good solution that still provides Greenway users the opportunity to see the canal and Pennsylvania rail bed. There are really no insurmountable problems, just budgetary constraints."
Dave commented further on the Keshequa Gorge near Sonyea and Tuscarora in the town of Mt. Morris. "We'll need to reroute the trail here.
Rerouting doesn't give a sense of what the railroad and canal were like, but we're not given much choice." According to Dave, the nature of the Keshequa is such that the costs for trail construction and continued maintenance would be prohibitive and thus preclude multi-use trail development in this area.
Jerry thought that one of the more difficult Greenway development challenges has been deciding how to detour around the active rail line in Chili between Genesee Junction and Scottsville Road. He stated that despite much thought and effort the chosen solution of constructing a trail beside Scottsville Road is less than optimum, but the only reasonable, practical alternative.
Jerry added, "The challenge is always to preserve the character of the resource as much as possible, to spend as little as possible, to anticipate any difficulties, provide for the safety and convenience of the public, and not overlook any details. We have to consider historic preservation to retain the character of the trail. We always want it to look like a converted rail bed." Both men felt that by definition their work as engineers was to create solutions to problems and optimize those solutions with respect to cost.
As for their favorite places on the trail, Jerry commented, "I like to check on the beaver dam (south of Route 251 in Caledonia). I find the Black Creek culvert (in Chili) somewhat awesome and the Salt Creek culvert (in York) somewhat depressing, because it was such a grand construction and now it is almost gone." Chili's Black Creek area is Dave's favorite spot. "It's a unique area, the culvert, the water. The whole dynamic going on there is appealing."
When the men were asked about what aspect of their Greenway work had been the most rewarding, both took a very broad view. Dave replied, "I get excited about what I do. I try to bring the same level of enthusiasm to whatever project I'm associated with, from the smallest to the most complex." According to Jerry, "The reward is seeing people on the trail with bikes and horses and imagining how it will all connect when we finish the 90 miles."
Dave, Jerry, and Tim have provided the engineering and design for new culverts, the yellow trail gates, the beaver control structure in Caledonia, the Little Black Creek pocket park, the bridges to be installed in Cuylerville, the ramps to be constructed at Routes 5 and 383, and the trail detour to be built beside Scottsville Road. They have also spent many hours assessing the washouts at York Landing and the Keshequa Gorge.
Thanks Dave, Jerry, and Tim for your many contributions to the Greenway effort!!
Questions about the FOGVG or the Trail? Email:
Fran Gotcsik, Executive Director - fogvg@aol.com
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See You on the Trail!