A few weekends ago on the first sunny day we had this spring, we spent the afternoon at Sampson State Park on the east side of Seneca Lake. On our way back home, we swung through Geneva and decided we wanted to come back when we had more time. So we did just that last weekend.

We had lunch at a great place called the FLounge on Seneca St. It’s in a cool old building that was once an apothecary and still has the old pharmacy cabinets, mosaic tile floor and art deco mural on the ceiling. We then walked the town, which was super charming and reminded us of days of yore. (Not that we were alive in days of yore, but you get my drift.) We were even reminded of our old neighborhood in Capitol Hill with a lovely block of Federal-style row homes near the Hobart and William Smith campus.

We were then ready to take a stroll along the water. But to make the short jaunt from the charming little town, we had to cross 20 lanes of traffic. Seriously. What is wrong with us?! How do we LET THIS HAPPEN?! Who lets a 6-lane major road split a walkable town from its waterfront? A waterfront that, by the way, has a lovely walkable path and a playground. But, no. People have to drive to the waterside parking lot, park, walk along the water, then get back in their cars to drive a few blocks to only park again and get out and walk to go grab a bite to eat. What?!

I took that first picture above standing from the waterfront parking lot looking toward the town. That second picture below is what you have to cross to take a stroll on the waterfront. Just a short walk, but I was honked at, stared at and had to play a game of Frogger just to get across. Makes no damn sense.

There should be some sort of natural flow that takes people in a pedestrian-friendly and bike-friendly way from the town to the water. It may be because I grew up out West where waterfronts were hard to come by, but this just burns my hide.


Update: VisitGenevaNY told us there is a pedestrian/bike tunnel to get you safely across to that playground we told you about in the article and that they are working with DOT to improve the use of the waterfront: