Erie Serpent 

Canal Park at SUNY Brockport, NY


Clare Lyster with Donovan Aranda and Valentina Zadro.

Client: New York’s Reimagine the Canals Initiative  / New York Power Authority
Team: CLUAA (site planning) with Buro Happold, New York and John Ronan Architects (bridge design)


The project catalyzes a community around a historic guard gate on the Erie Canal at the SUNY campus in Brockport and links the university and Brockport’s downtown to the Empire State Trail, a 750 mile multi-use trail in Upstate NY. A linear canal park on the north and south banks of the canal awards an integrated canal-side experience, while a four-phase public space plan is envisaged to reorientate the SUNY campus toward the canal over time. The site plan by CLUAA is anchored by a new pedestrian bridge over the waterway (John Ronan Architects) alongside the old guard gate.




Serpent Bridge by John Ronan Architects with engineering by Buro Happold, NYC.





Clare Lyster Urbanism and Architecture (CLUAA) 2023 — Chicago, Illinois