The New York Canal Corp. says it has backed off a plan to reduce operating hours this summer and will save money by reducing a maintenance program instead.

The agency said last month it would cut its hours to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from May 23 through Sept. 3 and save about $1 million by cutting staff at locks and other facilities.

Now the agency says it will go back to operating between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., as it has in recent years. It will save just more than $400,000 by suspending a groundskeeping program. Officials say they reversed course after recreational and commercial boaters criticized the curtailed hours at public hearings.

The schedule released Monday includes operating from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. between May 1 and May 22 and from Sept. 4 to Nov. 15.