Kingston Greenline’s progress detailed at Kingston Land Trust meeting

From Kingston Plaza, the rail line will continue along Route 28 as a combination trail and rail line, with plans to convert the remainder of the corridor starting at the Ashokan Reservoir to trail-use only. Hikers or bicyclists can take an alternative route from the Plaza: down Washington Avenue to the Super 8 motel, where they can pick up the former O&W railroad, known today as the Hurley Trail. The link from the Super 8 to the paved portion of the Hurley Rail Trail along Route 209 has been cleaned up by volunteers and is navigable on foot and mountain bike; it traverses the Hurley flats along the Esopus Creek and is rich with wildlife.

Once these trails and inks have been established, people will be able to travel on foot or bike all the way from the Hudson waterfront at Kingston Point through Midtown, much of the way on a dedicated, traffic-free walkway, to the Hurley Rail Trail, and from there along the trail all the way to Ellenville.

The county has been examining the feasibility of establishing a link from Midtown to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, the trail head of which is located a mile or so south of Greenkill Avenue off Route 32 on Rockwell Lane. The tracks for the portion of abandoned Wallkill Valley railroad that terminated at a station on Greenkill Avenue are still in place — they cross South Wall Street, South Pine, and Wilbur Avenue — but converting them into a trail is complicated by the fact they cross private land. Weidemann said the county hired a local engineering firm to identify four route options, including reusing the abandoned railroad. (The lack of shoulders along heavily trafficked Route 32 makes that road unsafe for bike and pedestrian traffic.) Establishing a link would enable rail trail users to access Rosendale, New Paltz and ultimately the Walkway Over the Hudson at Highland, and from there the network of rail trails in Dutchess County.

Making a mecca

This was exciting news to those in attendance — including local business owners, residents, cycling club members, mountain bikers, and a couple who own a bicycle shop in Saugerties (they live in Kingston and selected their house based on its proximity to the in-city rail trail).

Weidemann noted that his committee has been meeting for four years and so far nearly 300 volunteers have helped with the Rondout rail trail. “We want to do more events and get out in the community so people understand the Greenline and we can get their feedback,” he said, adding that the KLT also needs to monitor the trail since the stone dust was laid down at Kingston Point last October.

He said it was important for the Greenline to have a voice in other related city projects, such as Building a Better Broadway, and also “doing tabling as many events as possible,” which in summer can number six to seven a week.

“We also could generate more media,” he added. “Neighborhood outreach was important when we began construction. We knocked on doors, handed out our flyers and explained the project, and we need to do more of that, as well as presentations to community groups, such as the Rotary and Kingston Uptown Business Association.”

Sign-up sheets were passed around, and many signed their names, eager to help make the vision of Kingston as a rail-trail mecca a reality.