Pedaling to Lewiston

Wow what weather.

I rode my bike to Lewiston to work in the Allstate office Friday and contemplated Parkway Removal, which was the topic of the big meeting at the Castellani building this week.

Pedaling to Lewiston is great fun because it is downhill almost the whole way. The bike path is a bit narrow on the dam by the power plant before it opens up on the abandoned portion of parkway.

Right as it turns to head down into the village is Fort Gray, the recently constructed overlook.

You can get there on foot by walking a mile uphill from the village or a bit further from Devil’s Hole. There is no easy access.

Meanwhile at Artpark, things appear to be progressing on the new path from the top of the hill down the escarpment to the upper lots. The trail is filled with switchbacks. As improvements progress, 165 new native trees will be planted as well as 5,400 shrubs.

There will be a scramble staircase as well as a smooth path. It is not designed for bikes but will get used that way once it is open.

At the time the project was announced last year, the state also funded a new extension of the Crow’s Nest stairs from the Maid of the Mist docks to Prospect Point.

At last week’s meeting, Regional Parks Director Mark Mistretta said design is progressing for the project but it’s proving difficult because while the budget is for $6 million, doing the project right for that price is challenging. Ideally, he said, construction would be some sort of natural element akin to the recently reconstructed Whirlpool stairs but the budget is already large and asking for more is unlikely to get a positive response.

The photo below is from the Fort Gray overlook.