Lock 62 Project Kicks Off with Clean-Up Day

Pittsford's Historic Lock 62 Preservation Project got off to a good start on Sunday, April 27 with a community clean-up day. Over 50 students from the Pittsford Rotary Interact Clubs and National Honor Society of Pittsford Mendon and Pittsford Sutherland high schools, along with more than 25 adult Rotary Club volunteers, Town Supervisor Bill Smith and Pittsford Schools Superintendent Mike Pero, spent more than three hours clearing brush and logs and picking up debris in the Lock area. These dedicated volunteers worked very hard to clean up the area, some even wading into two feet of mucky water to get the job done. By the end of the afternoon, the group had picked up six bags of garbage and debris, and cleared enough brush and logs to create a pile 80 feet wide, 16 feet deep and four feet high! Many thanks to all those who came out to help. Check out our photo gallery to see the clean-up in action.

Lock 62, a historic lock site along the old Erie Canal route, is located on Town parkland behind Pittsford Plaza at 3195 Avenue Monroe Avenue; the entrance to the site is along the embankment off of the parking lot between Applebee's and Wegmans. While the Lock structure itself is one of the best preserved locks along the old Erie Canal route, the site requires general rehabilitation. Town of Pittsford crews completed preliminary clean-up work requiring heavy equipment, making the site ready for the main clearing operation by community volunteers. Future plans for the site include possible restoration of historical lock features such as fencing and small structures and addition of educational and informational materials.

The Lock 62 Preservation Project is a community volunteer effort, involving the Town of Pittsford, the Pittsford Central School District, the Pittsford Rotary Club, Historic Pittsford and other community partners. The project aims to make the historic Lock 62 site more accessible to the public from both the Monroe Avenue side and the canal path and to render it suitable for recreation programming and additional community use.