The Chicopee UrbanRiver Visions Charrette was very successful due to the excellent local turnout and great brainstorming that occurred! The charrette took place on October 26, 2002 and drew over 60 interested citizens and local and state officials who shared their ideas and enthusiasm for the City of Chicopee and Chicopee River's waterfront.

Chicopee Police Chief Ferraro commented, "In the 1950s we used to clean our canoes with gasoline to remove the [chemical] polymers from the bottom of the canoe. Any fish we caught we threw away because they were contaminated. Today, the river is cleaner."

Some of the key initiatives discussed at the charrette included:

• Enhancing access to and use of the Chicopee River for recreational and educational use as well as dedicating some areas for wildlife habitat and conservation uses;
  
• Making a local bike path connection through the historic mill building complex and along the riverbank connecting to the larger regional bikeway currently under construction nearby; and
  
• Redevelopment of outmoded riverfront industrial properties to take advantage of the river's natural beauty and build upon new investments throughout the city.
  

Chicopee has begun progress on realizing these ideas with funding from UrbanRiver Visions and other sources. For more details, click on Implementation below.

For more information on Chicopee, including buildout maps and statistics, please visit EOEA's Smart Growth and Urban Environments resource page for Chicopee.