Old train station on Cold Brook Road in Boiceville. (photo by Keira Eisenbeil)
Riders in the Adirondacks.
In reaction to a presentation on the forthcoming Phoenicia-to-Boiceville rail bike excursions, the Olive town board has written to the Ulster County Planning Board to express concern about the use of Cold Brook Road as a temporary terminus for the tours. Residents along the road objected to possible noise and disruption from the bikes owned by tour company Rail Explorers, due to start operation in late summer. The letter focused on the issue of using the road or nearby private property to load riders on a bus for transport back to Phoenicia.
In previous outlines of Rail Explorers’ plans for tours on the county tracks, it was stated that the terminus would be the parking lot of the future Boiceville trailhead of the Ashokan Rail Trail. However, since construction of that trailhead will not be started until fall of 2017 and completed by fall of 2018, it turns out Rail Explorers is planning to use the narrow residential road as a temporary terminus, or possibly rent property along Route 28A.
The letter to Ulster County, drafted by the town board and signed by Supervisor Sylvia Rozzelle, states, “We believe that any plans you design for the terminus of this venture, outside of the location at the Ashokan Trail Head, need to be submitted to the zoning enforcement officer and may be subject to site plan approval by the Olive Planning Board.”
Blizzard postpones meeting
The town board met on Thursday, March 16, the first time in 20 years a town board meeting was postponed, due to blizzard conditions, said Rozzelle.
The board approved several measures for improving the town’s flood resilience:
• Appointees were established to direct outreach to and assessment of properties that were ravaged by Hurricane Irene in 2011 and may be eligible for a New York City-funded buyout program. A site assessment has already been completed for the Trail Motel in Boiceville, where two oil spills had occurred. After six years of red tape, purchase of the property by FEMA is at last forthcoming. The county will demolish all structures on the property, and title will be transferred to the Town of Olive, which has an interest in the land because it adjoins the Boiceville wastewater treatment plant.
• Olive’s Community Rising Project has been working with engineering firm Milone and MacBroom to study possible remediation of erosion in West Shokan where Hurricane Irene took out a portion of County Route 42 along the Bushkill Creek, cutting off 185 homes for almost two weeks. “When that road is compromised, or the bridge goes,” said Rozzelle, “there’s no outlet for food, emergency services, or fuel delivery. It’s a 60-mile drive to get there through Shandaken and Denning, so this issue is very strong for us.”
The estimate for addressing erosion along the creek came out at $2.6 million, so the town is considering how to cut back on parts of the plan. “We’re looking at the possibility of separating out what it would cost just to protect the road and the bridge,” said Rozzelle. The federal funding for Community Rising is administered by New York State.
• Another Community Rising proposal, brought up in 2014, was to move the town offices in West Shokan away from possible inundation, but new flood maps have placed the offices out of the flood zone. However, the town buildings are eligible for upgrades, including a peaked roof and gutter system, now in the process of design, and a 115-kilowatt back-up generator, for a total of about $300,000 that Community Rising is funding.
Meanwhile, when reached on March 20, Rozzelle was plowing through the 100-plus-page final draft from Woidt Engineering for Local Flood Analysis (LFA) of Boiceville and West Shokan. Adoption of the report will open up funding opportunities to make those communities more resilient in the face of flooding.
SENT TO ULSTER COUNTY POLITICIANS. THEY HAVE YET TO REPLY. THEY HAVE THEIR MINDS MANIPULATED.
An Alternate Plan For The Use Of The Ulster & Delaware Corridor
As Remembered By Pete Baker -12 Dec 2016
We had an interesting discussion at the U & D Railway Revitalization table this past weekend with one of our visitors. It basically had to do with a more logical use of the rail corridor. At present the Catskill Mountain Railroad has be allocation a section of track in Kingston westerly to mile post 8.33. The Rail Explorers have been allocated a section of track in the Boiceville/Phoenicia section.
The proposed change would be to have the CMRR’s western terminus at the Basin Rd. Bridge. In addition, move home base for the Rail Explorers to Shokan and the proposed Trail Head as their western terminus and the Basin Rd. bridge as their eastern terminus. A multi-purpose visitor’s center could service Trains out of Kingston, Rail Explorers and trail users. See rendering below. The Shokan Rail head could service both the Rail Explorers and trail users. Furthermore, trail users could take the train from Kingston to avail themselves to the 11.5 miles of the NYC DEP property along the Ashokan. Tourists could take the train from Kingston to West Hurley where a shuttle bus could take them into Woodstock for the day. This plan has all of the advantages mentioned for a truly multi-use corridor.
The rails would be revitalized and saved while accommodating both the rail and trail proponents. It would allow for a more methodical evaluation of the corridor west of Phoenicia. Incorporating designs for future rail service to the west with a partnering trail to the Delaware County line. In the not too distant future, with the expansion of Belleayre Mt. & the addition of the two Belleayre Resorts, the influx of tourists will tax the capacity of Rt. 28. Limited passenger service would lessen that impact to the highway. It’s called planning ahead. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!
That makes sense, long term and would benefit all.. But it seems like the county and the trail folks are more interested in chasing after 10 million in grant money for just trails.
The thing is that 10 million will be going in someones pocket instead of the trail.