Patroon Greenway Project – Yardboro Ave. to Everett Rd.

The institutional support for the Albany Bicycle Coalition to promote the Patroon Greenway Project lies in Capital District Transportation Committee’s January 2019 “Capital District Trails Plan (pg. 28) – https://www.cdtcmpo.org/images/bike_ped/TrailsPlan/CDTC_TrailsPlan_F3_reduced.pdf

The plan describes the Patroon Greenway (Off-Road Trail • 8.8 miles) as follows:

“The Patroon Greenway is a planned multi-use trail route which would connect from the Albany waterfront to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve and points beyond to the Schenectady County line, taking advantage of slivers of greenway which are found along the I-90 corridor.

“Beyond the county line, the Patroon Greenway is projected to continue northwest along the I-90 corridor thru Rotterdam and eventually connect with the Mohawk River section of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail (F) as part of the Empire State Trail. (Refer to Schenectady section for more detail in that county and the Patroon Greenway Feasibility Study.)

“Although the full Patroon Greenway extends to the Mohawk River, only a portion of it is considered a Core Trail for the purposes of this plan. Commencing at the crossing of the Livingston Avenue Bridge, where it would connect with the Rensselaer Riverwalk/RPI Trail as well as the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail along the Hudson River, this trail is envisioned to follow the railroad bed northeast— through the wooded area behind Capital Woods apartment complex—and connecting with the established trail which winds its way through the Tivoli Lake Preserve. Branching off the Tivoli Preserve Trail, it would then head north and pass along the Transflo railyard on Anderson Drive. From this point, it is envisioned to continue following the I-90 corridor west just south of the railroad tracks to Six Mile Waterworks Park at Rensselaer Lake. Here, the Rensselaer Lake Trail could connect it through to trails within the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, where it could link up with the proposed Schenectady Park Connector (R) trail heading north into Schenectady.

“The remainder of the Patroon Greenway would eventually continue to follow the I-90 corridor beyond the county line to connect with the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail in the vicinity of Dalys Island.”

Notes on the Plan appear at the end of this post. The Patroon Greenway studies are as follows:

• Existing Conditions
• Regional Impact Analysis
• Cost and Funding Options

From these reports and the Trail PLan, it is clear that the proposed Patroon Greenway Project is a key element in the Capital Trails program as it ties together other trails and destinations that are virtually inaccessible by bicycle or foot because of the overpower encroachment of dangerous roads and highways. Further, it connects two jewels in the City of Albany – Six-Mile Trail and Tivoli Preserve, the largest urban preserve outside of NYC.

Photos follow:

“I Get No Respect” – Patroon Creek buried under Central Ave. at Yardboro Ave. (3X)

Heading SE – Clear path ahead – Patroon Creek to the right.

Patroon Creek (2X)

Pond

“Last Prize” (2X)

Everett Rd. (3X)

Path Veering Off to the Right

I-90 Overpass – Tight Squeeze to the right side of RR tracks

Train Yards and Tank Bomb Parking

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Capital Trails-New York (Overview) – In January 2019, the Capital District Transportation Committee – the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy-Saratoga Springs metropolitan areas – released its final plan for the four-county trail master plan.

The complete plan is here – www.cdtcmpo.org/trails

CDTC developed this plan as a toolbox for local governments, trail advocates, and organizations. CDTC cannot implement the plan because it cannot initiate capital programs. The economic data, maintenance case studies, and branding plan provide the spine for cities and towns to create their own trail and/or Complete Streets plans to connect to the system. These data also will help in competing for funding and offer ideas for local friends groups to promote trail projects, advocate for trail connections, or support an existing trail and a marketing strategy to attract private sector support and champions.

Capital Trails-New York is an overall branding and area designation. Individual trails within the system will retain their own identity much as is the case with the statewide Empire State Trail network. The advantage of this approach is twofold – it will attract newcomers – tourists and new residents – to the area and will encourage those with allegiance to a local trail to continue their involvement.

Since this plan will drive development of trails for years to come, it is imperative that you be familiar with it. While the plan is packed with interesting and valuable information, you should check the pages that refer to your area:

• Albany County – page 28
• Rensselaer County – page 34
• Saratoga County – page 39
• Schenectady County – page 44In each such section, you will find a trail map and detail description of each trail and its features.If this plan is to reach its goal of 148 miles by 2020 and 289 miles after full implementation and for the region to benefit economically and socially from a trails network, you will need to get involved in supporting your municipality and advocacy groups in pushing for completion – trail by trail. Pages 81-104 provide case studies of what people (like you) were able to accomplish. Starting with our own Friends of the Rail Trail and the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail, these case studies relate how great success was achieved but also how important was involvement by the citizenry. The studies are loaded with how-to tips.As a side note, the Albany-Colonie Connector – developed and designed by the Albany Bicycle Coalition – was adopted as Supporting Trail #14 as one of the key connectors between Guilderland, Albany, the Village and Town of Colonie, and the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail at Lions Park. See page 33. This connector ties in with the Albany Loop (Core Trail “C,” pg. 29), Patroon Greenway (Core Trail “D”), Shaker Trail (Supporting Trail #13), and the University at Albany Purple Path. The Albany Bicycle Coalition has promoted this connector and has reached out in this effort to municipal leaders and local NYS Assembly members.

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