Photo by Suzann Caputo
Rails to Trails Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has a green solution for a future filled with trails, and the connections they inspire.
H
Suzann Caputo
and-holding couples, joggers sprinting
on their web site www.railstotrails.org, is to build
by, double-seated bikes with helmet-
“healthier places for healthier people.” They are doing
wearing toddlers on the back—it’s a
this by creating trails that encourage activities such as
sunny Saturday early afternoon on the Wallkill Valley
biking and walking, or what RTC refers to as “active
Rail Trail. A forest of trees and wild shrubs cradle
transportation.”
pedestrians as they travel a path of gravel and packed
One Hudson River Valley resident speaks fondly of
dirt, popular for bike riding, walking, hiking, and other
the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. “One of the best things
outdoorsy activities such as bird watching.
about living in the New Paltz area is the access to the
The Wallkill Valley Railroad was originally a rail
rail trail,” said Beth Glance, New Paltz resident and
line that shipped vegetables, produce, dairy, and at one
coach of the Shawangunk runners, a local running
point people, from the farmlands of upstate Hudson
group who consistently use the trail. “The surface is
River Valley down to the bustling streets of New York
flat and very forgiving when it comes to running.”
City. It is now purely a recreational trail, and has been
RTC is working to have a trail like the Wallkill
since it opened officially in October 1993. The Wallkill Valley Railroad was originally owned
Valley Rail Trail available to all Americans. According to the National Transportation Library- Bureau of
by Conrail, the primary Northeast railroad corporation,
Transportation
but like many other railroads, it was abandoned
Statistics,
in the 1970s when trucking began to dominate the
“Nationwide,
transportation world.
72 percent of
Want to Find a Rail Trail? Check out www.traillink.com and map a trail today.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), founded in
all Americans
1986, is the organization responsible for transforming
have reported
abandoned rail lines all over the nation, just like the
wanting a
Wallkill Valley Railroad, into a nationwide network
community based planning structure which makes
of recreational trails, or “greenways” as RTC refers to
walking, running or bicycling an integral part of the
them.
area’s transportation system.” Rail trails are often the
With global warming on the rise due to carbon emissions, and obesity on the rise partially due to lack of exercise, RTC’s self-proclaimed mission, as stated
cheapest method of trail creation, especially in urban areas that lack open space. RTC has made significant progress with rail
transformation within the last 20 years. When it first
Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. With this connection there
was established in 1986, there were fewer than 200
will ultimately be a 23.7 mile nearly continuous
known rail trails. Currently, there are more than 1,600
recreational trail that runs from Gardiner through New
trails in urban, rural, and suburban communities
Paltz and Rosendale, and north to the city limits of
throughout the United States, and RTC is in the
Kingston.
process of linking them. The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail has had a series of
This linear park will benefit Mid- Hudson residents in many ways. According to Christie Ferguson, executive director of the Wallkill Valley Land Trust,
It’s most recent one was in August 2009 when the
this trail connection will fill in the most important
Open Space Institute (OSI) and the Wallkill Valley
missing link in one of the best networks of rail trails,
Land Trust (WVLT) bought 65 acres of the former
and will also encourage new economic development in
Rosendale Rail Trail and connected it with the
the Hudson River Valley.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Commons
connections and acquisitions throughout the years.
The abandoned Rosendale Railroad Trestle sits above Roundout Creek in Rosendale. The trestle is 114 years old and is in the process of being repaired.
Some Hudson River Valley residents agree.
popularity with the public is increasing. “Trail usage
“It seems to me that a rail trail improves property
has been increasing annually,” said Jennifer Kaleba,
values of nearby homes,” says Glance. “I paid
Rails-to-Trails vice president of communications.
extra for a house I owned in Accord, because
“Many trails indicate 1 million to 3 million users a
it was right on the Rail Trail and I looked
year.” To arrive at these figures, RTC uses various
specifically for one similarly located in New
methods, from workers counting every passerby to
Paltz.”
computerized trail counters mounted at trail heads.
According to the WVLT, the OSI and the
Even though no national statistics on trail use are
WVLT have started a fundraising campaign in order to finance the improvements the trail needs in
available, based on
“Our vision for the 21st century [is] that by 2020, 90 percent of Americans will live within three miles of a local trail system.” RTC Annual Report
order to be used.
individual trails it is estimated to be in the tens of thousands, Kaleba says. In 2008, RTC launched the Urban
Pathways Initiative (UPI) in response to the climbing
trestle in Rosendale, which is currently closed
levels of obesity, congestion, and shortage of open
to the public, and widening the rest of the newly
space in
acquired trail.
urban
According to the OSI, opening the Wallkill
communities.
• 2010 8th Annual Greenway Sojourn Join 350 other bicyclists as they peddle more than 250 miles on a trip through southeastern Pennsylvania and the Delaware River Valley of NJ July 17-24.
Valley Rail Road bed for public use has been a
RTC
priority of the Ulster County Non- Motorized
offers tech
Transportation Plan. This plan’s goals include
assistance
creating a green infrastructure that reduces fossil
to urban
fuel consumption, encouraging more physical
communities
activity, and stimulating economic growth for
such as Washington D.C., Compton, Calif., New
Ulster County.
Orleans, La., and Cleveland, Ohio, specifically,
Not only are trails being extended, but their
in order to get trails up and running and to foster
summer plans?
This includes decking the 940 foot long railroad
Local Artist Alert: community ownership of the trails. Turning a local rail line into a trail requires not only technical savvy to build it, but community support to keep it going. The volunteers who had pioneered the start of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail organized into the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Association whose responsibilities became to promote and manage the trail. According to Ruth Elwell, member of the Ulster County Trails Advisory Committee, the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Association gets maintenance help from the village of New Paltz and the towns of New Paltz and Gardiner. The positive response RTC has received from their work has led them to their goal for 2020. “Our vision for the 21st century [is] that by 2020, 90 percent of Americans will live within three miles of a local trail system” said the RTC 2008 Annual Report labeled “Inspiring Movement”. RTC has more than 100,000 members and has laid down approximately 19,000 miles of trail spanning the country. In order for RTC to reach their goal, they still have thousands of rails to convert.
Cover Photo: Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in New Paltz.
Water Street Market invites artists of all kinds to send submissions for consideration in a summer art series “Art Along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail” taking place this summer every third Saturday from May through August. Ceramics submission deadline: May 8 show date: May 15 Sculptors submission deadline: June 5 show date: June 19 Photographers submission deadline: July 3 show date: July 17 Painters submission deadline: Aug. 7 show date: Aug. 21 Time: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visit www.ulstercountyalive.com for more information.