The rail trail itself has seven at-grade street crossings, travels through the 300-foot tunnel, over the bridge crossing Route 9W, and over three trestles, remnants of the old streetscape prior to urban renewal of downtown Kingston in the late 1960s. Fencing in certain portions might separate residential areas from the trail. One of the most appealing aspects of the project are the “green nodes” — pocket parks with parking, trash cans, benches, tree plantings, a water fountain, and consistent signage and maps at the two trail heads as well as at Rondout Gardens and at two places along Delaware Avenue.
One of these would be at the entrance to the tunnel, where Hasbrouck crosses Delaware Avenue. Weidemann, who led the tour, pointed out that the forested land and lawn covering the tunnel is city owned and hence could be well adapted to a park. The dozen or so participants on the tour climbed down through the brush to gaze into the tunnel, which thanks to volunteer clean-up efforts is now cleared of debris. Nancy Clark, senior project manager at KC Engineering, explained that a portion of the tunnel’s timber roof might be removed to bring daylight into what would be a kind of sunken trail, with steps leading up to the street. The older, arched brick-line portion of the tunnel, which dates to 1860, would remain intact.
Just beyond the south entrance to the tunnel is the high trestle over the highway, another point of interest. Weidemann pointed to the line of telephone poles marching down toward the highway, which mark the portion of Hasbrouck Avenue that once connected downtown to Midtown but was obliterated by urban renewal.
Many people affixed their comments to the maps. Among the “positives,” which far outnumbered the “negatives,” were creating fun stops for kids, such as a place for sidewalk games; adding interpretative signage related to local nature, bird-watching, geology, and history; installing solar arrays for lighting and device-charging stations; and integrating stormwater controls into the trail design.
Next steps after collecting and assessing the public comments are assessing the total construction cost of the trail and prioritizing the aspects of the design that would be covered, said Basinger.
Basinger, whose film has worked on trail projects in Brentwood, Saranac Lake, Plattsburgh, and East Syracuse, said Kingston’s advantage is the ability of the trail “to connect a culturally rich community to a heritage waterfront.” The public access to the waterfront and trail “expands the potential” for tourism. Plus, “having a universally accessible trail from the Midtown hub to Kingston Point supports community development and recreational access,” he said.
One of the attendees was Karl Beard, New York projects director for the National Park Services’ Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program. Beard, who’s worked on the Erie Canal rail trail, said boaters tying up at Rondout were another constituency for the trail and the development of the area as a destination. And he reiterated the often-cited advantage of pedestrian access to schools as being one of the top quality-of-life improvements for local residents.
Beard, who lives in the area, also noted that trails have already been established in many upstate cities, including Buffalo, Rochester, Utica, Rome, Albany, Schenectady, and Cohoes. “This is us catching up,” he said.
Saratoga Associates’ presentation at the community workshop, which contains detailed maps and other information, is posted on the city website, www.kingston-ny.gov — click on “Kingston Greenline” under “Economic Development” and on “PPT Presentation” in the text.
