Zippy Start for Phase Two of Connective Corridor Project

Great sights and smells helped usher in the next phase of the Connective Corridor project. A thrilling zip line ride, coupled with some tasty fare from local food truck vendors, was part of the first festival ever to be held in Syracuse’s Forman Park, all part of the effort to  connect Syracuse University and downtown.

Here’s the transcribed version of our video story:

Jipfest and Food Truck Rodeo

Linda Hartsock, Director, Connective Corridor: “This event is a lot fun, traditionally for a construction ground picking you’d have people with shovels wearing hardhats. That is not what we wanted to do we wanted to do something that is really fun and innovative and launch the connective corridor in kind of a dramatic, visual way. What better way to do that then to close down a street and a park, bring in a mobile zip line, have a food truck ready, showcase the student talent, multicultural talent from around the world here in the heart of downtown Syracuse? It’s great.”

“Right here is because this is where phase one ended and where phase two picks up Monday, November 4th. And we’re going to be starting tomorrow by bringing the corridor, wrapping it around Forman Park. Forman Park is a big piece of new, green, public space that we’ve done as part of the corridor. And beyond building this stuff, we want enliven it with people and activities, so this is a great way to do it. This is the first festival this park has ever had. The park commissioner is here, he’s about to ride the zip line. [It’s] just fun.”

Jamey Lloyd, 40 Below: “Tomorrow starts the phase two and three of the connective corridor facelift, and so we’re really just trying to promote that. It’s bringing the community, you’re bringing family and friends and Syracuse University community. It’s going to be a pretty good turn out here. I think it’s going pretty well. I mean, we’ve got about six or seven trucks, a lot of different variety, anywhere from the cookies to coffee to Mexican food to, you know, your classic burgers. So I think it’s going pretty well. I really like it because you’ve got the small business. Everyone’s here that owns their own trucks it’s really nice to give back to give back to the area.”

Linda Hartsock, Director, Connective Corridor: “This really was the vision of the university to embark on this project and do it in partnership as a collaborative with our city and county friends, again, to make Syracuse a more exciting, vibrant, dynamic place for people to be.”