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March 11, 2020 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 7
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At the crossroads By SPOTLIGHT STAFF news@spotlightnews.com COLONIE — Today’s consumers see it as the back way to Northway Shopping Center, but Railroad Avenue continues to be a vital part of the local economy as it once was an important thruway in the early 1900s It’s home to dozens of business and continues to be the focus of revitalization plans in which the towns of both Colonie and Guilderland hold interest. Railroad Avenue is a gateway into Albany County for those coming off of I-90, and it is the focus of this month’s Discover series.
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The railroad is still visible on some portions of the twomile stretch of road. Instead of trains, the road sees an abundance of truck traffic each day. Danielle Sanzone / Spotlight Newspapers
8 COLONIE SPOTLIGHT | March 11, 2020
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The Railroad Avenue corridor once bustling with technology continues to be viewed for something new in today’s world It’s also one of the By DANIELLE SANZONE roads you can take to the news@spotlightnews.com COLONIE — You might be familiar with Railroad Avenue as the road you used to take to the bygone discount movie theatre that was within a stone’s throw of the Northway, where Lowe’s and BJ’s now stand.
Once a vital corridor for railroad transportation, Railroad Avenue continues to be important for local business. Colonie Historian
the Railroad Avenue development was likely in Northway Shopping Center 1939, according to town off of Central Avenue. And assessor documents. Town it’s an industrial avenue maps of the area show lined with warehouses, portions of the original a gym, a Coca Cola location of the line of the distribution warehouse, Mohawk & Hudson River and a furniture showroom/ Railroad, the first railroad warehouse. established between Albany to Schenectady. But, long before all of this, Railroad Avenue was “The railroad line is - shockingly- home to a where the famous engine railroad. the ‘Dewitt Clinton’ chugged its way along the The railroad line in this tracks at an astounding 12 corridor, which straddles miles per hour,” observed the town of Colonie and Franklin. the town of Guilderland, was a New York Central The “Dewitt Clinton” Railroad project, said was the first steam Colonie historian Kevin locomotive to operate in Franklin. the state of New York and The first portion of the fourth built for service
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DiscoverRailRoad
March 11, 2020 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 9
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A GREAT PLACE TO... • LIVE • WORK • PLAY • STAY in the United States. Franklin noted that there would have been steam engines in the 1930s that would evolve into diesel-electric engines into the 1940s and 1950s.
Corridor for tech? There must be something in the water because, generations later, the area around Railroad Avenue is once again at the top of the game for technology of the day. The corridor is practically in the shadow of the State University of New York at Albany and the SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (SUNY Poly).
In the battle between two soft drinks, in this corner of Albany, Coke reigns. Danielle Sanzone / Spotlight News
It’s partially because of the proximity to these institutions and the Harriman State Office Campus that a transportation and revitalization plan was put together about a decade ago for the Railroad Avenue
area which is mostly zoned for industrial and commercial type uses. The plan also leverages the location with nearby I-87, I-90, and Route 5. The revitalization plan was put together in collaboration with the town
of Guilderland, the county of Albany, the Capital District Transportation Committee, and the town of Colonie for the approximately two miles long avenue which,
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Wheels of progress generally, follows an eastwest route. Around the time of this plan, the Railroad Avenue area was identified as a focus area for the expanded Empire Zone program and, under the program, 10 businesses were certified and made about $8 million in capital investments. At one point, an action program included an item to explore the desirability and feasibility of locating a new rail station in the vicinity of the state campus on the west side of Albany. A 2010 review determined that there were 625 eastbound and 600 westbound vehicles in the weekday evening peak hour on Railroad Avenue at the intersection with Fuller Road.
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Railroads may or may not be completely in the
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past for this corridor. There are still some abandoned rails in the median of the avenue with even more tracks not far from the road. And that ever-elusive High-Speed
Colonie’s Planning and Economic Development department, along with the county of Albany, said the revitalization plan pre-dates the current leadership. There do not appear to be any current projects on Railroad Avenue from this plan. But, no matter what happens with the
“The railroad line is where the famous engine the ‘Dewitt Clinton’ chugged its way along the tracks at an astounding 12 miles per hour,”
— Kevin Franklin, Colonie historian rail was at one point discussed to potentially go through this corridor as well. The Railroad Avenue area revitalization plan, which lays out the longrange vision for the corridor for what could happen over the next 20 years, also talks about railroad track rehab and removals. Officials reached in the town of
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development of the area, the Colonie town historian is now considering a historic marker indicating the original route of the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad in the area of present day Railroad Avenue. Franklin said there is more to research and discuss, but a sign is a possibility.
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March 11, 2020 | COLONIE SPOTLIGHT 11
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Housing
Residents
$246,176 According to Zillow.com, the median value of a home here exceeds $240K as of Jan. 31, 2020.
81,591 41.1 The number of people who reside here as of 2010.
Is the average age of a resident.
Education $74,244
The median household income. United States Census Bureau
The percentage of residents who have attained a high school education or higher.
92.8%
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Colonie
by the numbers
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Traffic
Business
$2,524,393,000
Retail trade in Colonie is work more than $2.5 billion. United States Census Bureau
EAST
8,008 Retail trade also brings in the most number of jobs to Colonie, followed by admin and support. United States Census Bureau
WEST
625 600 According to a recent traffic study, slight more traffic goes eastbound on Railroad Avenue, versus westbound. The figure was recorded during peak hour on a weekday traffic. Capital District Transportation Committee
STEM Jobs 4,195 That’s the number of professional, scientific and technical service jobs at more than 350 establishments in Colonie. This sector of business is worth more than $780 million. United States Census Bureau
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