Saratoga Associates was contracted by Mott MacDonald (Buffalo) as their Wayfinding and Lighting design consultant for the Robert Moses Parkway South Segment “Riverway”, an $18.8 million project to enhance Niagara Falls State Park and allow access to the waterfront for the first time in 50 years. The park previously had four lanes of expressway bisecting it, making it difficult for visitors and residents alike to access the Niagara River and American Rapids. Working alongside the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), New York State Office of Parks Recreation & Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP), The City of Niagara Falls, and the New York Power Authority (NYPA), USA Niagara Development Corporation (USAN) lead the charge to reclaim the City’s waterfront.

Saratoga’s wayfinding design consisted of a major Entry Feature wall as you exit the new roundabout at John Daly Boulevard onto the Riverway. To announce your arrival at Niagara Falls State Park, Saratoga designed an arched entry wall that visitors would pass through as they drove into the park. The wall consists of two unequal arcs on either side of the Riverway, they announce the park’s name along with the date it was established in bronze lettering, which is also backlit and up lit to allow for a great night time experience. On the larger wall, a 12’ tall stone column displays a 4’ diameter custom bronze medallion of American Falls, from the well known Prospect Point. The stone selected is Indiana Limestone, a material that Frederick Law Olmsted widely used in his original design for the park. If driving past this feature is not enough, you can get up close and personal by taking a stroll right alongside it, experiencing its size while posing for a photo op on one of the parks many new pathways.