Updating Our Parks

Over one year ago, I wrote a seldom-read piece on a small park in Rochester called Cornerstone Park.  My take on this run-down, outdated piece of urban greenspasce off of Broad Street was the question of what to do with our city parks that have seen better days?  Today, I decided to bike into downtown Rochester and capture the first glimpses of Spring, only to find that the formally neglected Cornerstone Park received a makeover.  An emphasis on simplicity and easy maintenance, as well as visibility (parks are typically better when you can see in and out of them, reducing the “creepy” factor) were the obvious upgrades, as well as new benches and tables that resist the elements.  While sporting a little less grass, this new Cornerstone park is easier to maintain, it’s safer and it has the appeal of a place you might want to have your lunch break in a surging Downtown Rochester.  This is now a sustainable piece of “getaway” space where people can comfortably sit, read a book, have a snack or just enjoy the sunshine.  Urban centers, take note… this is how you change an overgrown, weathered park and turn it into a place where people want to be.  Bravo City of Rochester, looking good!