Bicycling Commuter Communities Are Coming

A $28 million, 12-mile bike trail that will be part of the biking trail network should be complete in the fall of 2025, Orange County Planning Commissioner Alan Sorensen said.

Communities of bicycling commuters is a vision in motion, according to Orange County Planning Commissioner Alan Sorensen. A $500,000 New York State grant is fueling an Open Space Institute study of 57 miles between Port Jervis and Kingston, through Ellenville.

“They’re inventorying the land, planning a cohesive trail,” he said. “Segments of it, about 50%, already exist in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster County along the O&W Rail Trail and D&H Canal.”

Meanwhile, the county “Bikeway Vision” and OSI bikeway plan overlap and complement each other, Sorensen said. The county already has commitments for money and land for the Schunnemunk Trail that will include two miles from Middletown to Ingrassia Rd. and then 10 miles from Camp LaGuardia to Salisbury Mills, which will be extensions of the Heritage Trail.

Most of the $28 million for the bike trail will be paid by the Federal Transit Administration and New York State Department of Transportation. Orange County will pay 10%, Sorensen said. Fall of 2025 is the expected completion date.

“The idea is to have a safe, stress-free commute,” he said, explaining that the intention is that bikes can be used to travel to and from the train, the Harriman Station for instance. When snow covers the trails, they will not be plowed, and for a few weeks of the year, trails may be inaccessible, but Sorensen also envisions cross-country skiing as one alternative for making use of them.

The new trails will resemble the Heritage trail, paved and 12 feet wide, with grass shoulders.

The larger bikeway vision includes development of communities along the bike trail network. Sorensen had no prediction about how many people would be likely to use the bike trails. The intention is to reduce use of cars.

“Housing possibilities are endless,” said Sorensen. “In the next phase we’ll develop potential locations. Now we’re working to get the plan adopted.”

However, municipalities oversee residential zoning, not the county, he noted.

Community focused news can only succeed with community support. Please consider the various subscription levels.