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Kingston Point Park resiliency plan recalibrated after wetland succession
Summary
Staff said changing wetland conditions at Kingston Point Park will alter design plans for parking and beach terracing; planned construction to raise part of the parking lot, create an earthen berm and add wetland features is scheduled for fall, pending final design and DPC input.
City staff reported changes in wetland succession at Kingston Point Park and said those changes will affect the planned park improvements, including parking elevation, an earthen berm and proposed beach terracing work.
Julie Noble said successive changes at the site have moved areas that once appeared as a parking lot toward wetland conditions; removing asphalt now, she said, would set back the natural succession and could require different project sequencing. Staff will meet with the Department of Public Conservation (DPC) and other partners to reassess design choices.
The current construction timeline discussed calls for a fall construction window of four to six weeks to raise about 55 parking spots by roughly six feet, construct an earthen berm and complete adjacent wetland work. Noble said that if asphalt were removed now it could set back succession by several years; staff want to balance habitat recovery and necessary access improvements.
NYS RAISE grant and beach terracing: Staff said the RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) federal funding for a separate beach terracing project remained uncertain but that grant conversations continued. No contract awards were finalized at the meeting.
Why it matters Resiliency work at Kingston Point directly affects shoreline flooding, habitat and public access. Changes in wetland extent require careful design coordination with permitting authorities and funders to avoid unintended ecological impacts.
