Bernie Ruggeri walked along the Genesee River embankment earlier this week on Kendrick Road near Strong Memorial Hospital. Looking below, he signaled crews to raise the East Guard Lock by one foot.After a short creaking echo, ripples of trapped water became a gushing force from the river on its way to the Erie Canal.
This week crews have been busy getting the canal ready for its official seasonal debut today. It's a process that has ushered in spring for the past 185 years. This season, canal officials and communities are anticipating continued growth in traffic and events along the waterway, which stretches from Buffalo to Albany.
At Lock 32 in Pittsford, crews spent the week cleaning a barge lying on a few feet of water as they geared up for their locks to be opened. "We're filling the canal from here to Palmyra, opening up the lock one foot each day," said Ruggeri, state electrical canal supervisor. "It's always exciting to see the first rush of water head toward the canal each year."
During the offseason, crews rehabilitate the infrastructure and perform maintenance such as brush removal, painting and replacing stones on the embankment. It's all in preparation for the unlocking of the gates.
"You have to lift the gates up slowly so there isn't a tidal wave of water heading down the canal, and a few days later the canal is filled," said Thomas Grasso of Pittsford, president of the Canal Society of New York. "It's akin to turning on a faucet in the bathtub and it's quite a scene to see this man-made wonder happen every year."
In 2009, recreational, commercial and tour vessels passed through canal locks 121,847 times, a 5 percent increase over the previous year. Each time a boat goes under a bridge, it is considered one locking and the number of recreational lockings has slowly increased.
More than 300 events last year — including festivals, fishing opportunities and the city's River Romance weekend — brought visitors to the canal. This year even more events are scheduled.
"Five years ago, we would be lucky if we had 40 events on the canal each year," said Carmella R. Mantello, state director of canals. "But now everything from small farmers markets to attractions in Pittsford and the Fairport Canal Days, which attract thousands of people, showed us that we needed to tap into the canal more because people were interested. The canal is becoming a national tourist destination."
This year's events will include the World Canals Conference in September in Rochester, which will be the first city to host the event twice. The international five-day conference was last here in 2000 and is expected to draw more than 500 delegates from around the world, including canal enthusiasts, professionals and scholars.
Corn Hill Navigation, a nonprofit organization that operates the Sam Patch and Mary Jemison tour boats, will be more involved this summer than in previous years. Its boats start operations May 9, and the group is expanding its involvement in local education.
It will host a free cruise for 1,400 Rochester city school district fourth-graders in May and June. The Erie Canal field study corresponds with students learning about the historic waterway and the upper Genesee River. Fourth-graders from the Brighton and Honeoye-Falls Central school districts take part in Sam Patch educational cruises each year.
"Young kids need to understand the significance of what the canal is so it doesn't just become something on the page of a book. It becomes something that they are proud of in the community and have experienced themselves," said Victoria Schmitt, Corn Hill Navigation president. "It's going to be a busy year, but we are so excited that we can hardly wait."
Rochester and other communities plan to showcase canal developments, including Corn Hill Landing and Brooks Landing and the city's plan to update the canal district downtown.
"The canal is still the economic powerhouse for businesses running through Fairport, Pittsford, and Brockport," said Grasso. "And as far as entertainment value, you don't need a $125,000 yacht to enjoy it. All you need is a canoe, a bike, a fishing pole, an inner tube or a blanket for a picnic."http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100501/NEWS01/5010327/1002/NEWS/Erie-Canal-set-to-open-today-for-summer-season
