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New Paltz Times - Features | 11/12/2009 |
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The monolithic passage
Grant could help link Wallkill, Hudson Valley rail trails as one path |
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| | A portion of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.
[ Al Alexsa ] | |
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by Erin Quinn
Steps are being made to eventually link the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail system to the Hudson Valley Rail Trail and across the newly opened Walkway Over the Hudson. Last week the Hudson River Valley Greenway announced a grant of $17,750, which was awarded to the five municipalities that make up the Southern Ulster Alliance to help create a link between the trail systems in New Paltz and Lloyd.
The grant money will be matched by the Southern Ulster Alliance and used to design a multi-use connection between the Hudson Valley Rail Trail and the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. When the link is made, it would tie together two existing rail trail systems between the Swartekill Swamp in Highland and Huguenot Street in New Paltz.
From New Paltz, rail trail travelers could voyage north to Rosendale and beyond or south to Gardiner and Shawangunk without ever having to step foot into a motorized vehicle.
Representatives of the Greenway and the Ulster Alliance gathered together last week when the grants were announced.
New Paltz Supervisor Toni Hokanson thanked the Greenway and its acting Executive Director Mark Castiglione for their support.
"This will help us to cover the cost of the design and then we will take that design to help us leverage funds to implement the link," Hokanson said. "It's a critical link that not only connects Lloyd to New Paltz and both rail trail systems to the Walkway Over the Hudson, but it will also allow people to travel through the Swartekill Swamp area, which is important in terms of its biodiversity, beauty and environmental education opportunities."
She added that this conceptual route, once planned and implemented would allow rail trail enthusiasts from both New Paltz and Lloyd and beyond to make their way to the Exit 18 Park and Ride, to New Paltz's only subsidized housing complex, the public Moriello Park Pool and onto the rail trail where it meets with Historic Huguenot Street.
Another trails project that was funded by the Greenway is slated to complete a connection between Walkway Over the Hudson -- the longest pedestrian bridge in the world -- and the Hudson Valley rail trail. This connection is slated for completion in the spring of 2010.
Town Councilwman Kitty Brown was first appointed to the Hudson River Greenway when it began in 1991 by then-state Assemblyman Maurice Hinchey (now a longtime Congressman).
Brown noted that "at that time there was tremendous opposition to the Greenway, to the Town of New Paltz acquiring the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, and I think it's remarkable to see how far we've come towards our appreciation, support and understanding of the critical importance these trails are for recreation, non-motorized travel, tourist economy and quality of life."
Brown also added that back in the early 1990s "Greenway had three times the staff and three times the budget that they do now. This small staff does an incredible amount of work with very little funding and we all owe them our gratitude."
Castiglione noted that the Greenway Conservancy has helped to preserve 700 miles of trails in the region.
He thanked the Southern Ulster Alliance for their commitment to trails and for "building upon earlier grants that we awarded to your trail projects."
Ray and Claire Costantino (the Lloyd town supervisor and his wife, representing the Hudson Valley Rail Trail) were there to receive another grant of $1,500 to create a professional brochure that promotes the rail trail.
Castiglione and New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce Director Joyce Minard noted that Ulster County's number one economic engine is their tourism and trails, trail connections and the recreational opportunity they afford are a key ingredient to what keeps people coming back to the region to visit and spend time.
"The No. 1 thing people used to look for when buying a house was whether it was near a golf course," noted Castiglione. "Now the No. 1 thing they look at is whether or not there is access to trails!"
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© 2010 Ulster Publishing, Inc.
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