Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

May 05, 2012

Dan Keefe
518-486-1868

Parks Commissioner Applauds TinTop Project

New York Works to bring more improvements to Glimmerglass State Park

(Cooperstown, NY...) Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey thanked Hyde Hall, Inc. for their work in making the Tin Top Bridge a reality and also noted that more improvements are underway at Glimmerglass State Park as a result of Governor Cuomo's New York Works fund.

"The TinTop Bridge is an excellent example of how partners can help revitalize our state park system. Grassroots partnerships can provide the enhancements and extras that make our parks exceptional places to visit," Commissioner Harvey said.

Along with the grand opening of the Tin Top Bridge, Glimmerglass State Park will undertake a project to rehabilitate the existing parking area and driveways near the beach and day use areas. The beach is home to 8,000 feet of shoreline on the scenic Otsego Lake. With aid from the New York Works fund, Glimmerglass State Park targets the main parking lot at the beach and day use area as the main place of reconstruction due to the high volumes of vehicles that enter the park each season. The nearly nine-acre parking lot is run down and needs to be modernized to accompany as many vehicles as possible in an environmental-friendly fashion. Construction is expected to begin in the fall.

"The significant capital funding the Governor and Legislature provided through the New York Works program will make great progress toward revitalizing Glimmerglass State Park," said Harvey. "With the help of New York Works program, we are able to develop projects and improve the surrounding environments of our New York State Parks in ways that we never thought were possible. It is truly special to see how Glimmerglass is working toward becoming more environmental-friendly with the improvements on the parking lot and the grand opening of the Tin Top Bridge. This is a great leap forward for Glimmerglass and I am excited to see their improvements in the near future."

Some of the many highlights of the project include:

• Minimizing the asphalt parking lot and creating more room for recreation, including a basketball court and grassy areas for tents and large scale picnics.
• Reducing the amount of asphalt surfacing and replacing it with reinforced green parking areas Incorporating new drainage features and bioswales to help filter and reduce the volume of storm water runoff to improve the water quality of Otsego Lake.
• Providing universal accessibility for people with disabilities.
• Planting new native species trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses to help improve the aesthetics of the area and provide shade and wind breaks in the future years.

Glimmerglass State Park attracts about 400,000 visitors a year. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 178 state parks and 35 historic sites. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connecting on Facebook, or following us on Twitter.