!HELP TURN THE ADIRONDACK RAILROAD CORRIDOR INTO A RECREATIONAL TRAIL!
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

Keeping snow on the rails is expensive and often a machine damaging effort.
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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 railroad and enters the watershed.

Multi-use Recreational Corridor? How many uses do you see?
The "Alternative #4 Initiative" is The Adirondack Travel Corridor Recreational Trail.
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"!
Take action now!!
Please write to the following to advocate for the __A__dirondack __C__orridor Recreational __T__rail
Commissioner Department of Transportation
Astrid C. Glynn
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
Robert Moore
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!!
David A. Paterson
State Capitol
Albany,New York 12224
Be Counted!
email
beaver4@hughes.net
Write: Adirondack Corridor Trail
150 Norridgewock Lake Road
Eagle Bay, New York 13331
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 fourty
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 benifit 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.
!The State DOT is seeking imput for the Corridor management . PLEASE write to Astrid Glynn,Commissioner DOT,50 Wolf Road, Albany New York 12232 PLEASE add this web site as a link from yours!
Patterson Please, Tear out these Rails!!