A section along the east side of Hamlin Beach State Park is scheduled to undergo construction next year.
This is one place along the south shore of Lake Ontario where, in 2017 and 2019, high water levels caused extensive shoreline erosion.
The proposed project will remove a protective concrete barrier that was put in place about five years ago and replace it with a more attractive design.
"I think it's important for everyone to know that we don't do what we used to back in the day, you just built a big wall to keep the lake from coming in there," explained Arthur Briley, director of New York State Parks' Genesee Region. "Now, we've learned that there are ways to do that which are aesthetically pleasing and still just as resilient."
The DEC has set Thursday, Aug. 22 as the deadline for public comments on the project.
The plans call for reshaping the beach promenade to make it a winding path, rather than running in a parallel line along the shore. Boulders and cobblestones will be used in the surrounding landscape design to dissipate any waves that crash ashore.
"It's going to preserve the Medina sandstone sculptures that we have in there," Briley said, "and it's going to give us an opportunity to work on that whole landscape, so any natural, standing water will have a place that now it can stand."
The project has already cleared an environmental impact review and an historic preservation review.
Construction is expected to start in the early spring and continue for about a year.
