New York state crews have started work on a $4.2 million redevelopment of Roosevelt Drive within Saratoga Spa State Park.
The project will improve transportation safety within the park by adding pedestrian and bicycling pathways adjacent to the park’s busiest stretch of roadway, which connects the Avenue of the Pines with the golf course, pools, picnic areas, and the Roosevelt Baths and Spa.
Funding for the project came from New York Works capital funding as well as $1.2 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.
“This exciting upgrade will make Saratoga Spa safer, more environmentally friendly and more enjoyable to cyclists, pedestrians, and guests who visit the many cultural venues in its historic setting,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “The $4.2 million project will complement the significant investments we have made to enhance Saratoga Springs’ status as a world-class recreational and tourism destination.”
Officials said the roadway will be moved away from the classical arcades, making space for a large circular patio as a welcoming gathering place to kick off exploration of all the park has to offer.
Part of the Park of the Arts initiative, the corridor improvements mark another major milestone in the restoration of the National Historic Landmark campus. The project will also create expanded parking to service the Spa Little Theater and the recreational and cultural attractions of the Roosevelt Campus, as well as to provide new EV charging stations.
New stormwater management features will help protect water quality, stabilize water temperature, and improve brook trout habitat in Geyser Creek. These include installing underground stormwater chambers and porous asphalt at the expanded parking lot to filter rainwater and allow it to slowly infiltrate back into the soil, reducing stormwater runoff and sedimentation flowing into Geyser Creek.
“The Park of the Arts initiative is transforming features and facilities throughout Saratoga Spa State Park,” state Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said. “The Roosevelt Drive project will deliver improved wayfinding, pedestrian safety, and improved stormwater management as we continue to focus on climate resiliency to protect and improve this gem in our state park system for the next 100 years.”
Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim said, “I applaud NYS Parks’ efforts to build and rehab pedestrian and cycling opportunities in Spa State Park. This perfectly complements my own efforts in the city as we build toward a complete network of bicycle and walkable alternatives for residents and visitors.”
The Park of the Arts initiative envisions Saratoga Spa State Park as a singular global destination for multi-disciplinary arts presentation, programming and learning through the adaptive reuse of National Historic Landmark structures, set in a spectacular 2,400-acre natural setting. Through collaborations with cultural and educational organizations, recreational enterprises, and private businesses, New York state will create an artistic and cultural tourism destination in a class of its own in one of New York state’s flagship parks.
State Sen. Daphne Jordan said, “The state’s ongoing investment in Saratoga Spa State Park continues paying real dividends for our Saratoga community and entire Capital Region. Saratoga Spa State Park is a beloved resource and a special place to reconnect with nature, rediscover the arts, renew our shared sense of public space, and realize how blessed we are to have this crown jewel of the state park system right in our own backyard.”
Assembly member Carrie Woerner said the initiative “is a reinforcing the tremendous asset we have in the Saratoga Spa State Park by nurturing the cultural assets concentrated there. This phase of the project will emphasize that the more typical activities in the park—walking, biking, and gathering together in a spectacular landscape—will not be neglected in the improvements to this venue. I applaud this latest project that will improve the safety and the experience of all who visit.”