Editor, The Spotlight;
Earlier this month, the Albany County Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail was bustling with activity for the Summer Solstice Festival, an event that signals the start of the summer and the unique experience the rail trail provides.
Now in its fourth year, the festival — hosted by the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy and the Friends of the Rail Trail — showed that with partnership, hard work, determination and creativity, we can work together to enhance the quality of life for residents and provide a great recreational asset for the public. There’s nothing better than spending a summer day outdoors with family and friends and the rail trail provided a great back drop for the community event to celebrate the true public nature of the rail trail.
Since 2008 when Albany County purchased the 9-mile section of the abandoned Delaware and Hudson line linking Albany to Voorheesville, we’ve worked closely with Mohawk Hudson, the Friends of the Rail Trail and local government leaders in the towns of New Scotland, Bethlehem and the village of Voorheesville to advance funding requests with the state and federal government to pay for planning and construction to move the project off the drawing board and get the work done.
We’ve been successful to this point, and the final section of the rail trail, from Delmar to the city of Albany, is under construction. The work is expected to be complete later this year. The next phase of this ambitious project is to fully link the rail trail to the Albany’s riverfront then north to Cohoes and on to Rotterdam Junction in Schenectady County. This would result in over 50 miles of continuous bike and hiking trail in the region, which is surely something that would add to our recreational resources.
At a time when more people are utilizing mass transit to get to work and more people than ever are biking to work, the completion of the rail trail will provide a viable asset and alternative transportation option for people in Albany County and beyond. The rail trail adds economic benefits to the community by making the region more attractive for hikers, pedestrians and bicyclists.
Albany County, the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy and Friends of the Rail Trail have demonstrated that collaboration and cooperation can yield positive results for the public.
It’s been a long road to get to where we are today, and I join those who are looking forward to the completion of the rail trail. It’s true what they say, the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Together we’ve done great work, and now we are starting to see the success.
Daniel P. McCoy
Albany County Executive
