Southampton Town Board Green Lights RFP’S For Design Plans For Riverside Maritime Trail Park

Several members of the Flanders/ Riverside/Northampton Community Association (FRNCA) attended a Southampton Town Board work session to hear the final 100 percent presentation on conceptual design plans for Riverside Maritime Trail Park.
The Riverside Maritime Trail Park and Wetland Restoration project is planned for the 14 acre Suffolk County Park Property located on the Peconic River in Riverside. The Town has an Inter-municipal Agreement (IMA) with the County for this park project. Araiys Design, the landscape architects hired by the Town, held three community meetings and discussed possible design features to be incorporated into the park. This initial concept planning was funded by a grant awarded FRNCA by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).
The design group brought their final conceptual plans to the Town Board in a work session, Thursday December 13, 2018. The conceptual plans include:
- A walking trail with the main spine of the trail running east to west
- Opening up views that will be visible from Flanders Road
- Removing nonnative plants
- Creating pedestrian access
- Creating vehicular access to a parking area
- Creating a Kayak Launch area
- Designing a Great Lawn in an area that already exists
- Building a performance Stage
- Utilizing one of the overlook areas as an educational classroom
- Designing a comfort station
- Developing exercise areas
The architects recommended a three phase plan that will help the Town budget through available state and other grants. The next step would be for the Town to submit a Request for Proposals (RFP) for design and construction documents. “Let’s move forward,” said Supervisor Jay Schneiderman. “We have a plan.”