Which Way to the Park?

Much of the focus for  Montezuma Heritage Park Design Committee this past year has been planning for signage so that people can find the park. So many people have said to me, "I've heard of that Richmond Aqueduct, but where is it?" or "Montezuma? Is that where that Wildlife Refuge is?" This year we've made great progress to be able to help people find the park, trails and historic sites within it. Most of the trails are roughly formed, in good shape, and can be used now, but finding them can be challenging.

Which way to Montezuma Heritage Park?

That's all about to change with the help of the Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work, and Play grant program. This organization's objectives  include establishing walking and recreation trails that focus on walking and biking funded by the state health department. Their mission seeks to bring government, the business community and the nonprofit world together to improve transportation, recreation and nutrition options in Cayuga County. The program encourages healthier choices to improve our lifestyles and creates a new context for physical activity by aiming to re-position it in our parks in terms of well-being, fun, stress reduction, and connections to other people and the natural world.

Through a generous grant received from the program, this winter volunteers will be busy building two new kiosks for the park entrances, benches, and designing signage for the park and along the trails.  With the help of Cayuga Community College and Professor Walter Aikman's Geography class and County Planning, we will have well designed maps to put on our new signage to locate the sites and trails of interest within the park.

My thanks to Sabrina Hesford, of the Creating Healthy Places program for helping us obtain this funding that will  improve our site -- one people will be able to find, and enjoy the many benefits it has to offer.