When did the County acquire the rail corridor?
The County completed the purchase of the future Albany County Rail Trail in
December 2009.
The County purchased the nine-mile stretch of the old Delaware & Hudson Railway between the Port of Albany and Voorheesville for $700,000 from Canadian Pacific Railway with a 2003 grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) of $350,000. Scenic Hudson, a Poughkeepsie-based non-profit land conservation organization, donated the matching funds of $350,000 to complete the purchase.
How long has the County been trying to acquire this rail corridor?
The short answer to that question is approximately 6 years.
However, the history of the project is more complicated than that and actually involves two separate rail trail projects.
Back in 1995, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail) proposed to abandon approximately 23 miles of rail corridor stretching from Albany to Delanson in Schenectady County.
At that time, Albany County took a leadership role in an effort to acquire the corridor for a rail trail and, in fact, secured a $1.8 million Transportation Enhancement grant for acquisition of the property and development of the trail.
Shortly thereafter, CP Rail withdrew its plan to abandon the rail line, which resulted in the unfortunate end of the proposed rail trail project and loss of the grant funding.
Then, in 2003, CP Rail once again proposed an abandonment of this rail line, but this time, it was for a 9-mile portion stretching from Albany to Voorheesville.
Albany County immediately filed a request for Railbanking (see next FAQ), submitted a parks acquisition grant application to the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, and began active negotiations with CP Rail to purchase the rail corridor.
Railbanking preserves rail lines proposed for abandonment by converting them
to trail use, while leaving open the option to restore the property to rail use
if needed. The
National Trails System Act 
authorized railbanking in 1983.
Railbanking provides two major public benefits by:
The reason that use of a rail corridor for a rail trail is considered an "interim conversion to trail use" is because a railbanked line is subject to possible future restoration of rail service if a railroad company can demonstrate to the Federal Surface Transportation Board that such a restoration is viable.
If a railroad company can demonstrate the viability of resuming rail service, it must compensate the rail trail owner for the fair market value of the property.
The Federal Surface Transportation Board has jurisdiction of the corridor while it is under the railbanking program.
More information on the Railbanking process is available in a fact sheet on
the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy website (www.railtrails.org ).
Not really.
Railbanking has been around since 1983 and has been applied to rail trail projects all over the country, but the restoration of a trail to active rail service has been a very rare occurrence.
It is a very complicated and expensive endeavor to restore rail service and the underlying justification needs to be compelling. Therefore, the County is confident that the public will be the beneficiaries of many years of recreational enjoyment through this project.
It should be noted, however, that if public transportation needs were ever significant enough to justify a return to rail service on this corridor, then it is likely that the County would be supportive of addressing that need, even if it meant the possible loss of the rail trail. In that event, the County would be compensated for the fair market value of the corridor.
What was the final purchase price for the rail corridor?
The final negotiated price, which was arrived at by mutual concurrence following consideration of three independent appraisals, was $700,000. This translates to approximately $77,778 per mile or about $6,000 per acre.
How much did the acquisition cost County taxpayers?
The cost to County taxpayers for acquisition of this property is zero.
As soon as the County learned of CP Rail's intent to abandon the corridor, an application was submitted to the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for a parks acquisition grant.
The County was awarded $350,000 through that grant, which was matched through
the generosity of our partner in this endeavor, Scenic Hudson, Inc. (www.scenichudson.org )
The County was fortunate to have Scenic Hudson's participation, technical assistance, and financial support.
Where are the endpoints of the trail and through which municipalities will it pass?
The east end of the trail nearest the Hudson River is just east of South Pearl Street in the City of Albany.
Moving westward, the rail corridor passes through the hamlets of Delmar and Slingerlands in the Town of Bethlehem, then through the Town of New Scotland, and finally ends just east of Main Street in the Village of Voorheesville.
How long is the total distance of the rail corridor?
The total length of the corridor is approximately 9 miles.
This includes about 1 mile in the City of Albany, 5 miles in the Town of Bethlehem, 2.5 miles in the Town of New Scotland, and a half mile in the Village of Voorheesville.
Will all of the corridor be converted to rail trail?
Yes.
The entire 9-mile length will be developed as a recreational trail.
Do you have a cost estimate for constructing the rail trail?
The total cost to develop the trail is estimated to be approximately $7.8 million, which includes construction of the trail, safety improvements and repair of several bridges.
We are not repairing bridges for vehicle transportation purposes.
We are making the minimum repairs to bridges to ensure that they are safe for pedestrians and bicycles.
This includes installing decks where needed, repairing decks, and installing safety rails. For 3 of the 8 bridges on the trail, we are also repairing the bridge abutments and bridge bearings on these abutments.
Since these repairs will require that we support the bridge above the bearings, for very little additional cost, we are taking advantage of the opportunity to slightly raise these bridges.
We want to protect our investment. Slightly raising these bridges will prevent them from being struck and damaged by the existing vehicle traffic.
How will the County pay for the construction of the rail trail?
The County's goal is to develop the rail trail with the least impact to County property taxpayers.
The County and its partners are actively researching grants and other funding opportunities for the development.
Currently, the project is included in the 2007-2012 Federal Transportation Improvement Plan for approximately $2.4 million.
The County has applied for funding from two other sources, the federal Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant program and the US Department of Transportation TIGER II program, but unfortunately was not awarded funding. The County continues to actively seek other opportunities.
Construction will begin once the County secures the total funding for developing the complete trail.
Once funding is secured, we estimate that the construction will last approximately 8 months or all of one typical construction season.
Why not improve and open the trail section by section?
There are many (more than 20) sections of the trail that need major safety
improvements. These improvements include installing a deck and railings on 2
bridges over streams, installing safety rail above steep slopes and on other
bridges over state highways, making safety improvements at at-grade crossings of
the trail and several heavily travelled roads, restricting public access to
dangerous areas of the Normans Kill, etc.
We are concerned that opening one section would encourage people to use unimproved sections, before we could complete these improvements and others needed for their safety.
Also, it will be quicker and less expensive to build the whole trail, and then open it all at once. Breaking the contract into sections makes things more complicated.
For example, it will be less expensive and easier to schedule one paving crew to pave the entire length of the trail, rather than scheduling several crews over the course of a summer.
It will be less expensive to purchase all the necessary materials at one time so that we receive lower unit costs for greater quantities.
Mobilizing contractors and subcontractors several times over several years will also cost more than mobilizing their employees and equipment once for one entire project.
Also updating engineering plans before each construction phase will add more cost to the design.
There are also restrictions on the current funding the County has secured for the project.
The County has secured approximately $2.4 million in federal funds for the project. However, as with most federal or state funds, there are restrictions and limitations on how the funding can be used.
First, the funding is capped and if the project costs increase, the County is responsible for the added costs. In addition, funds were awarded to the County based on an agreed upon project scope to build a bike/hike trail from Voorheesville to the Port Albany.
Therefore to change the scope of the project to build only a section, rather than a complete trail, would be contrary to the funding policy.
Is there a design for the future rail trail?
The County is currently working on the engineering and design plans for the trail.
The County has hired Greenman-Peterson, Inc. (GPI) as the project consultant, who has expertise in the construction of rail trails.
GPI has begun conceptual design work, and a public meeting was held on June 17, 2009 to gather public input. More than 120 people attended the meeting. Comments and responses from the public forum can be found here.
In the summer of 2009, County officials and GPI also met with municipal leaders from the communities the rail trail runs through to begin discussing design.
Various factors such as soil type, drainage improvement needs, structural integrity of bridges, at-grade road crossings, potential parking and access points, adjacent land use, available funding, and public opinion all have to be analyzed and incorporated in the design and planning process before we will have a final engineering and design plan.
No.
Although the County has assumed ownership, the property is closed to the public for the time. As explained in the previous question, there are over 20 sections of the trail that need safety improvements and therefore the trail is not deemed safe for public access or use.
The corridor will be open to the public for recreational use only after development of the rail trail is complete.
How level or steep is the grade of the rail corridor?
Most of the rail corridor is generally level.
The lowest point occurs at the east end nearest the Hudson River at an elevation of 50 feet above sea level, and the highest point is near the west end in the Village of Voorheesville at an elevation of 350 feet above sea level.
The steepest portion of the rail trail will be encountered when moving west from South Pearl Street through the Normans Kill gorge to Rockefeller Road in Delmar, an increase of approximately 100 feet in elevation over a trail distance of about 1.9 miles.
As one travels westward from Rockefeller Road, the grade continues uphill with an increase of another 50 feet in elevation over a distance of 1.3 miles to Delaware Avenue (State Route 443).
The remainder of the trail between Delaware Avenue in Delmar and Main Street in Voorheesville will level off substantially with an increase of only 150 feet in elevation over a distance of approximately 5.8 miles.
Will the rail trail be linked to any other trail systems?
There are several possible linkages, which the County is investigating in order to maximize the recreational potential of the rail trail.
However, our primary target is to connect the new 9-mile rail trail with the existing Mohawk-Hudson Bike Hike Trail.
The result of this linkage would provide approximately 55 miles of continuous bike-hike trail from the Village of Voorheesville, east to the City of Albany's waterfront, north along the Hudson River to the City of Cohoes, then west along the Mohawk River in the Town of Colonie, and eventually to Rotterdam Junction in Schenectady County.
What type of surface will the rail trail have?
The County intends to provide the best possible recreational experience to the public that can be reasonably afforded.
In most cases, that translates to a hard or paved surface, which while costing up to two or three times as much as a softer surface such as crushed stone, is much less expensive to maintain and provides for a greater diversity of uses.
On the other hand, a softer surface, while more limiting in terms of uses and more expensive to maintain, is substantially more affordable to build.
Based on a review of existing rail trails, it is apparently not uncommon for some trails to have multiple surfaces, with high-use portions having a hard surface and low-intensity sections constructed with a crushed stone surface.
No decision has been made at this time, but public preference and the expert opinion of our consultant will contribute to this important design decision.
What types of uses will be allowed on the rail trail?
The final decision on allowable uses has not yet been made and will ultimately depend on several factors, including the surface of the trail, public preferences, and expert advice from our consulting engineer.
At this time, we are looking at a wide range of multi-seasonal, recreational uses that do not conflict with other users, do not pose a risk to public safety, and do not increase the cost of trail maintenance or repair.
Will any particular uses be prohibited?
Yes.
Motorized vehicles, including ATVs, motorcycles, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles, will not be allowed on the trail.
Exceptions will be made for motorized wheel chairs and necessary access by emergency vehicles.
Will the rail trail be accessible to handicapped users?
Yes.
Design standards for parking, access, and recreational use will include provisions for physically disabled or otherwise handicapped members of the public.
Will the rail trail be plowed for use during the winter months?
No.
The rail trail surface will not be plowed to allow for biking during winter.
However, in an effort to promote multi-seasonal enjoyment of the facility, parking areas will be plowed to allow access to the trail for cross-country skiing and snow shoeing.
What opportunities for public input and participation will there be as the project moves forward?
Public input will be an important contributor to decision making in the planning and design phase of this project.
A public forum was held on June 17, 2009 to gather public input. More than 120 people attended the meeting. Comments and responses from the public forum can be found here
In the summer of 2009, County officials and GPI also met with municipal leaders from the communities the rail trail runs through to begin discussing design.
The County will continue to solicit public feedback at one or more public meetings before the project is completed.
The public is also encouraged to submit suggestions, ideas, and questions to the County at any time during the course of this project (see contact information at the end of this page).
The County also intends to continue to reach out to the individual municipalities and to various interested organizations to gain the benefit of their input.
Finally, a very well organized and dedicated “Friends of the Rail Trail”
volunteer group has been instrumental in collecting public opinion and
communicating those ideas to the County.
http://www.mohawkhudson.org/fort.htm
There are several County officials involved in the rail trail initiative, each of whom has a particular area of expertise that he or she brings to the project.
Therefore, given the wide range of possible questions, all inquiries are being directed to staff in the County Executive's Office, who will direct specific questions to the individual best equipped to provide an answer:
Office of the County Executive
112 State Street, Room 200
Albany, NY 12207
(518) 447-7040
Questions or requests for further information can also be sent by email to: railtrail@albanycounty.com
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