NEW YORK STATE SNOWMOBILERS want a Canadian style trail right here in New York?
ADIRONDACK MT.BIKERS want a long, easy, woods trail that goes somewhere?
HIKERS How about an even ground, safe, yet very remote hiking trail with many and varied destinations and activities?
YOU CAN HAVE IT What is now a very expensive, failing Rail Road, operating in
small sections on the 118 Mile track from Remsen to Lake Placid New York should be . . . . .
THE ADIRONDACK CORRIDOR RECREATIONAL TRAIL!!
A beautiful Adirondack Trail in winter!
Lets picture this Adirondack Trail with no rails when the snow is gone
The Adirondack Scenic Railroad needs a new Stimulous!
Keeping snow on the rails is expensive and often a machine damaging effort.
With rails exposed, the trail grooming has gone as far as it can go.
Deposits from snowmobile exhaust are gone with newer cleaner burning engines, but the railroad is still allowed to replace ties with carcinogenic, creosote treatment which bleeds from The Adirondack Scenic Railroad and enters the watershed.
The Adirondack Railway
Multi-use Recreational Corridor? How many uses do you see?
The "Alternative #4 Intiative" is The Adirondack Travel Corridor Recreational Trails.
The Recreational Trail option is outlined in the 1996 Corridor Management Plan as approved by the commissioners of D.O.T. and D.E.C..
Is an adjacent Trail a good idea? An adjacent trail wide enough to be effective would cost millions, take years and impose on the environment. Not the best option.
The rail restoration has cost taxpayers well over thirty million dollars while the trail alternative would be self supporting through snowmobile registrations and some of the expenditure to date would be recouped through the scrap value of the rails.!!
!!AmTrak runs a pretty nice train from New York thru Westport (35 miles to Lake Placid). It takes 4.5 hrs.and costs ~$65. Best schedule, New York thru Utica to Lake Placid will take more than 9 hrs. the cost to Utica is $78;add the Adirondack Railroad price from Utica to Lake Placid and a couple people have a major investment.!!
There is a mistaken perception that the corridor would necessarily be lost to property reversion or to more restrictive land classification. While this would be possible, it is not necessary! There are many examples on the web which examine cases and demonstrate that public good or need can preserve these right-of ways for many and varied uses. The rails-to-trails group has done this successfully in many instances for both motorized and non-motorized uses. There needs to be vigilance to insure all interests are met.
"How to Help"!
There's a new effort joining ACT, it's the Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates.
www.theARTA.org
Find www'theARTA.org on the web. Sign up. join, it's free and may be the first best stepping stone to the trail we all want!
Take action now!!
Please write to the following to advocate for the __A__dirondack __C__orridor Recreational __T__rail
Commissioner Department of Transportation
50 Wolf Road
Albany, NY 12232
Commissioner Department of Environmental Conservation
50 Wolf Road
Albany, NY 12232
Mt. Bikers,snowmobilers and Old Forge business interests may also want to petition ;
Town of Webb Supervisor
Ted Riele
3140 State Route 28
Old Forge, New York 13420
Rail Fans are writing the Governer requesting $27 million from your tax dollars, we need to send more petitions to save our money!!
Governor Andrew Cuomo
State Capitol
Albany,New York 12224
Be Counted!
email beaver4@hughes.net
Write: Adirondack Corridor Trail OR www.theARTA.org
info@theARTA.org, like us on facebook at the arta.org, contribute with paypal!
150 Norridgewock Lake Road
Eagle Bay, New York 13331
Click on files, print both files one front,one back to create a mail in petition letter.
http://adrtrail.pbwiki.com/f/ACT%20Initiative%20brochure.doc
http://adrtrail.pbwiki.com/f/new%20act%20brochure%20page%202.doc
NOTES:!!
Some interesting reading;
The new State Snowmobile management plan 10/06 estimates New York Snowmobile
related spending adds $46 to $52 Million each year to the economy.
September 22, 2006 Mary Esch AP writes;" The Adirondack Railway
is lobbying for $27 million in State funds" on top of the nearly forty
million already spent,there is no justification for this
expenditure of our money!
Editorial Utica OD May 30th "Taxpayers should not pay for RR"
Adirondack Daily Enterprise " Ad'r Railroad or Trail controversy.
http://www.railserve.com/Rails_to_Trails/
SUNY Potsdam Snowmobiling economic impact study offers:
230 million in direct spending by snowmobilers
476 million in net economic benefit each year.
That is 18 million in sales tax. (1997 with gasoline less
than $1.25)
trail counts are available from NYSSA, sections of the corridor in 1997-
1998 showed over 200,000 in one two month period.
Per person expenditures average $180.00 per day when snowmobiling.
www.adirondackexplorer.org article Nov-Dec. 2009 "Not everyone's on board"
At current values 7/7/2012, the scrap value of the 105 rail is ~$69,000 per mile! T
!The State DOT is seeking input for the Corridor management . PLEASE write to Janet McDonald ,Commissioner DOT,50 Wolf Road, Albany New York 12232 PLEASE add this web site as a link from yours!
Please, Tear out these Rails!!
SideBar
http://adrtrail.pbwiki.com
Economic Impact Survey
Compiled for and presented by ADIRONDACK SCENIC RAILROAD
Adirondack Scenic Economic Impact Report Assembled.pdf
National Salvage and Service Requests Information to bid 2/18/10
The National Salvage and Service Company has indicated it is exploring bid possabilities for the rail on the Adirondack Corridor. The Company would salvage the Steel and Ties leave a clean Trail ready surface and pay at least $1 Million ( Over salvage cost ) to the State of New York. National Salvage indicated they would enter into competitive bidding if required.
The idea of converting to a trail is getting good press: Dick Beamish writes in the Adirondack Explorer March April issue with comments on-line. "Unsafe at any speed" May 18th in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise as a guest commentary and the Facebook thread on www.wnbz.com/talk of the town. Another Facebook site "Adirondack Rail Trail (remove the rail) has pictures and comment you should see also.
Since our members have selected, as one of our top action issues, economic development and sustainable communities, we sought bids from five respected consulting firms to conduct the analysis. The North Elba Town Board, which for a time picked up the project, had selected Camoin Associates, in partnership with engineering firm Barton & Loguidice, from a field of three finalists. North Elba had intended to fund the study with state grant money and private funds, which had remained unused when a rail-with-trail study was halted almost six years ago. When North Elba encountered administrative problems in releasing the funds, AdkAction.org stepped in, back in September, 2010, and with private funding, assumed the role of contracting agent so the study could proceed in a timely fashion.
This study has provided facts to inform the debate over the future use of the rail corridor so that all the communities along the corridor can come together to support one vision.
Presenters Carmen Lorentz, Senior Economic Development Specialist, of Camoin Associates, and Ted Kolankowski, Senior Land Use Planner, of Barton & Loguidice have described a corridor trail which will bring a 20+% greater economic benefit and state that if the entire corridor becomes a recreational trail , " It would be a National Attraction".
Now is the time to become involved! Please read and sign up for information at www.theARTA.org. This group is already pushing well over 12,000. Join NOW, it's free!
National Rails to Trails has completed it's study and shows a greater than imagined advantage to the trail conversion of the corridor. Visit www.theARTA.org and find links to all the information on the Corridor.
Still waiting for the promised State decision on UMP review!
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