Empire State Trail plans up for public review

Residents can view the preliminary concept for the city’s section of the state-proposed Empire State Trail at a meeting next week.

The plans for the city’s part of the trail, from Route 9G in the city of Hudson to Delaware Avenue in the town of Greenport will be open for the public to view and discuss from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Columbia-Greene Community College Professional Academic Center, 4400 Route 23.

The Empire State Trail is an initiative by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to create a statewide trail system, including a 750-mile bike trail and walking pathway from New York City to Canada and Albany to Buffalo by the end of 2020.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the public is invited to meet the state Department of Transportation project team, review preliminary plans, learn the project schedule, ask questions and provide input on the conceptual design.

The route has not changed since the Hudson Common Council approved the plans in July, Mayor Rick Rector said Thursday.

“The route is still the same,” he said. “The only thing that is different is that we agreed on the trailhead near the dog park that is going to be located at Mill and Second streets.”

The Common Council passed a resolution Dec. 18 authorizing the mayor to move forward with the development of a dog park and trailhead for the Empire State Trail at the former Foster’s Refrigeration Site on Mill and Second streets.

In February, the Hudson Common Council voted to agree to a letter of understanding with the Hudson River Valley Greenway for the organization to help the city design the trailhead and construct the section of the Empire State Trial on city-owned property.

The Greenway is a state agency that promotes and preserves a system of parks, trails and kayak/canoe routes along the Hudson River , according to hudsongreenway.ny.gov.

When the design is finished, it will be presented to the Common Council, Rector said.

The bike trail, which enters Columbia County through Rensselaer County, is expected to benefit the local economy with tourism dollars, Cuomo said.

The trail enters Hudson from the south, starting from Route 9G/23B, and moves north along Third Street. From West Third Street, the trail will proceed along Allen Street to Front Street. The path continues east toward Dock Street, proceeds east along Mill Street and continues from there east to The Dugway — a walking path.

The trail then continues northeast along Harry Howard Avenue to Joslen Boulevard at the boundary of the city and the town of Greenport.

The trail is not expected to remove parking from Allen Street, Rector said June 11 during a regular meeting of the Common Council.

The route was selected with the help of Hudson River Valley Greenway, consultants from bike trail designer Alta Planning + Design and representatives from the state Department of Transportation Region 8.

For more information about the Empire State Trail or to submit written comments about the project, email

Mark Kruk at Mark.kruk@dot.ny.gov or send mail to: Mark Kruk, P.E., New York State Department of Transportation at 4 Burnett Blvd., Poughkeepsie, NY 12603.

To reach reporter Amanda Purcell, call 518-828-1616 ext. 2500, or send an email to apurcell@thedailymail.net, or tweet to @amandajpurcell.