People want to walk along the water's edge, whether it's a busy city promenade, a deserted sandy beach, or a shady stream bank. They want to use the water to swim, to fish, to boat, to dive. However, this desire for access is not always easily fulfilled. Waterfront development, dispersed access points, residency requirements, and limited capacity at recreational facilities can thwart people's desire to use and enjoy the waterfront. Even the public's right under the Public Trust Doctrine to use publicly owned lands and waters can be hindered by structures in the water and along the shore.

In making the most of your waterfront, you will likely find that access to coastal and inland waterways should be improved and increased. Creative partnerships among public and private entities can assist in these efforts. Individual public open spaces can be connected through a system of greenways and blueways. Existing public access areas need to be protected and maintained and new public access areas developed.

The public lands and waters of the State offer a significant recreation resource. These recreational resources are an essential part of the character of many shoreline communities. Recreational facilities should reflect a wide variety of active and passive activities, while preserving other important assets such as natural resources and maritime heritage. The needs of an aging population and expanded opportunities for disabled users should be highlighted. Recreational opportunities can be improved by identifying areas with additional recreational potential, working with new partners and recognizing and seizing small and non-traditional opportunities.

Maximizing public access to the water, while maintaining other important uses, requires consideration of a wide range of approaches by a community. In determining how to make your waterfront more accessible start by asking several key questions:

• What is the nature of existing access to your waterfront? What types of access, beaches, trails, boat launches, parks, marinas, nature preserves exist?
• How extensively are they used? Are they well used, little used, over used?
• Who owns and manages them: State or federal government, local government, private business, a private association, or a conservation organization?
• What is their condition? Are they well maintained, neglected or in disrepair?
• Are there adequate support facilities for recreation areas? Is there enough parking? Can boaters and fishermen obtain supplies?
• Are there private encroachments on public areas, particularly rights-of-way, public trust lands and waters, or public easements?
• What views of the waterfront are valued by the community and visitors?
• What are the costs associated with the use of the facilities, if any, are there restrictions on who may use them?
• What studies and plans already exist that address public access and recreation on your waterfront?

It is useful to map the public access and waterfront recreation that has been identified.

When you know what you have, you can then ask yourself "How can we improve what we have and what more do we want or need". In order to figure this out you will need information about:

• The nature of the demand for more access and recreation on your waterfront by type of access, and who in the community wants/needs the access or recreational opportunities, neighborhoods, specific recreational interests, e.g. competitive rowing, fishing, or scuba divers, the community at large, the region, or tourists and visitors
• The sites that have potential for providing access and recreation, the site's conditions that make the site appropriate or inhibit its use
• The environmental constraints on increasing access and recreation at a particular site
• The capacity of necessary infrastructure to support new or improved access and recreation
• Property ownership, including the nature of ownership of underwater lands, particularly lands that were once underwater and have been filled

This and similar information will enable you to identify the opportunities that exist for increasing access and recreation. In assessing how realistic these opportunities are you will need be aware of the many approaches that are available to bring about the changes desired. While one of the most obvious means of improving public access and recreational opportunities is through capital spending by federal, State, or local government, either directly or through grant programs, other available approaches that should be considered include:

• The use of local government land use regulations: new waterfront development can be required, under certain circumstances, to provide public access or recreational facilities as part of the development; site plan regulations can have standards that require buildings to be sited to protect views to or from the water; land can be zoned for recreational use only
• Partnerships between waterfront businesses and local government can be established with business improvement districts that create public waterfront amenities that enhance business and public access
• Non profit organizations, particularly land trusts and environmental organizations, can work with communities to improve public access
• Any remaining State interest in formerly underwater lands can be used to provide public access as part of new development
• Large institutional facilities, whether public or private, such as hospitals or schools, located along the shore can provide public access and recreation on their grounds
  
  Partners and Links

If your waterfront project includes park acquisition, park development, or trail development, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation may be able to help. Through the Environmental Protection Fund and, in some cases in partnership with federal grant programs, grant assistance is provided to municipalities (including state agencies) and nonprofit organizations:

• through the Parks Program for the acquisition and/or development of parks and recreational facilities and for the protection of open space;
• through the Acquisition Program for all three program areas for projects where acquisition is of more importance than development; and
• through the Recreational Trails Program the acquisition, development, rehabilitation and maintenance of trails and trail-related projects.

The Hudson River Valley Greenway is establishing a Hudson River Water Trail stretching from Battery Park in the Village of Waterford, Saratoga County, to Battery Park in Manhattan. The trail will provide access for kayaks, canoes and small boats along 156-miles of the river. As part of the "Hudson River Greenway Water Trail Program" the Greenway Council provides financial and technical assistance to site owners to help complete the Hudson River Water Trail. Launch and campsite owners located along the Hudson River and within the designated Greenway Area and who are, or wish to become, a part of the water trail system are eligible to participate in the program. Site owners can undertake a variety of projects under this program.

The Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley, Inc. provides grants to municipalities and nonprofit organizations. The projects grants program provides funding for trail planning, construction and amenities, historic landscape preservation, regional and local partnerships as well as many other resource enhancement and economic development projects.

The National Park Service Land and Water Conservation Fund Program can provide funding assistance for the acquisition, development and/or rehabilitation of outdoor park and recreation facilities. Funds are available to municipal public agencies and Indian tribal governments.

The National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program can provide assistance to conserve rivers, preserve open space, and develop trails and greenways.

The National Park Service Federal Lands to Parks Program helps communities create new parks and recreation areas by transferring surplus Federal land to state and local governments.