Consultant says $2.5 M is price tag to stabilize park’s shoreline
The Town of Bethlehem has long known about the issue of erosion on the shore of its Henry Hudson Park in Selkirk, but now it has an estimate of what it would take to fix it: $2.5 million.
That’s the conclusion of a consultant hired to study the problem. Ocean and Coastal Consultants was retained to the tune of $33,300 ($24,750 of which was from a state grant) for a six-month study and on Wednesday, June 22, presented its findings to the Town Board.
The extensive report confirmed what most already knew: a timber bulkhead built in the nineteenth century and later capped with concrete has degraded, crumbling into the Hudson River and slowly taking more and more of the town park in with it as waves, ice and flooding attack the shore.
The consultants recommended installing a `rock riprap` barrier along almost all of the park’s 2,680 feet of river shoreline. This type of barrier is comprised mostly of large rocks and slopes down to the river. In some places, plants would be placed among the rocks that would eventually grow into a vegetative cover.
It was the best solution when looking at cost, effectiveness and longevity, said Ocean and Coastal Consultants’ Joseph Marrone.
`We did look at a number of different factors for alternatives, ranked these in terms of importance and gave them weight,` he said.
Though a riprap barrier is sturdy and long lasting, one drawback is that it would limit or disallow public access to the shoreline. The large, probably wet rocks would be a hazard to venture out on, said Marrone.
Resident Bill Kelleher, who has long been studying the shoreline and advocating a fix, said that’s a major drawback.
`To me, that shoreline is completely useless,` he said at the Town Board meeting.
Kelleher said a vertical barrier in a style similar to the original wall installed by the Army Corps of Engineers would be best because it would allow fishing off the shore and other activities. That would be a much more expensive option, he added.
The town is planning to begin construction on a fishing pier later in the summer. Ocean and Coastal Consultants also recommended that work be done at the southern end of the park to establish a formal kayak launch. Many kayakers are already using this area to put in and take out of the river.
The conditions at the park are such that the riverbank is actually falling away underneath portions of a fence erected to keep the public from the increasingly unstable shoreline. This will continue to be a problem, said Marrone, and could eventually create a hazard for children. If nothing is done, he said that over time the town could lose a `significant portion` of the 51-acre park to erosion.
The consultants identified a number of possible funding sources in their report, but Marrone said in these tight times the town should be realistic when it looks at grant sources.
`There are grants available but you’re going to have competition for those. There is a limited pool of money,` he said.
In related news, the Town Board unanimously approved a measure to let the Selkirk Fire District construct a fire boat dock at the park. The department is now using a launch in Coeymans, and this dock would be much closer to its base of operations.
Pictured are images of the Henry Hudson Park shoreline included in the consultant’s report.
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