Erie residents will get their first chance this week to help shape the long‑term future of the city’s waterfront as the One Bayfront initiative launches its initial public engagement event.
An open house is scheduled for Thursday, June 25th from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Intermodal Transportation Center. Organizers say attendees can review vision boards, learn about the planning process and offer feedback that will guide the next phase of the project.
Kim Thomas, executive director of Infinite Erie, said the event marks the beginning of a months‑long effort to gather community input on how the Bayfront should evolve.
“We’ll be having the very first public engagement opportunity for our One Bayfront initiative,” Thomas said. “It will be an open house where attendees will have the opportunity to take a look at some of the vision boards that have been created, respond to what they’d like to see happen on the Bayfront and provide feedback so we can incorporate that into the next iteration of this project.”
The open house will include rolling presentations about the planning process and opportunities for residents to speak directly with representatives from WSP, the planning firm leading the effort. Erie Mayor Daria Devlin is expected to attend at various points as well.
Thomas described One Bayfront as a community‑driven blueprint that brings together years of waterfront planning into a single, comprehensive vision.
“We recognize that there are a lot of investments that are happening along the Bayfront,” she said. “This is an opportunity to really review all of those plans, get significant public feedback on the future of the Bayfront and bring it together in a comprehensive way so that this is Erie’s Bayfront for generations today and for future generations as well.”
The initiative will also account for ongoing development projects, including those already moving through the approval process. Thomas said the goal is to complement—not delay—work already underway.
“When we had the conversations with the mayor about recognizing that if investments are going to be made on the people’s waterfront, that the people have a chance to provide input on what those investments are, what those developments are and what they’d like to see and what they need,” she said. “Everything is taken into consideration but not holding up current projects that are in progress.”
Thomas acknowledged that some residents may question how much influence their feedback will have but said public input is central to the initiative.
“There is skepticism, as there always will be, around what this public input opportunity looks like and how much will their input be taken into consideration,” she said. “I would just say that it is the most significant piece of this entire process.”
Organizers say they are working to make participation accessible. In addition to Thursday’s open house, residents will be able to weigh in through future public meetings, online surveys and a virtual version of the open house.
“We’re trying to provide as much accessibility and opportunity for folks to weigh in on what they want their Bayfront to be for them, for their children, for their children’s children,” Thomas said.
Tonight’s open house at the Intermodal Transportation Center is the first of many opportunities for residents to help shape the future of Erie’s waterfront.