Brown's Race - Rochester

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Kelly
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A Sustainable Sunken Garden for Brown's Race
Brown’s Race has fallen into disrepair over the last 20 years and within the last several years; the pumping system failed and the raceway could no longer generate water through its raceway. This absence of water movement has led to waste and trash in the race, which is continually being cleared by City services on a nearly weekly basis. The raceway’s initial creation was designed to serve as a tribute to Rochester’s history and past namesake (when we were known as The Flour City). The race is in the heart and birthplace of Rochester but has now unfortunately become an eyesore. Its limited features have also created a concrete hardscape that needs softening with vegetation; it seems to be an ideal candidate for a lush, ornamental garden....

...The sunken garden will focus on creating a year round attraction through the plantings of ornamentals, evergreen and deciduous shrubs, perennials, and a variety of grasses. The project scope will include creating the ability to heat the water in the race to allow for an active engaging garden even in the harsh winter months in upstate New York, and will feature a variable pump to create a ripple effect throughout the race. We also believe that the sunken gardens in the race will create unique viewing vantage points and perspectives with its pre-existing pedestrian bridges above the gardens themselves. Friends of the GardenAerial will also seek to utilize sustainable methods to heat and power these features, including exploring the use of rain barrels and wind power, and solar panel technology....
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I am fearless, because I've been afraid.
I am wise, because I've been foolish.

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Matt
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The whole thing was rebuilt less than 20 years ago, so I'm not sure where "disrepair over the last 20 years" comes from. It was a ditch then, and it's a ditch now. RG&E is actually responsible for maintaining it, and they just cleaned it up and repaired a part of this in 2012.
Although it's nice people want to pump more money into High Falls, and I would love to revive that area as a tourism one (not that it needs it- it's doing pretty well as a business/ residential one) but my thoughts pretty practical on this:
if we can't even maintain a pool of water, how are we going to take care 250 foot long, 6 ft wide ditch filled with flowering plants?

Also I find the statement "To enable night visibility.." to be hilarious. You want to be able to see those flowers when you are mugged coming out of that vacant building.
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