Bike Trails on the Way to You
The Orange County Bikeway Vision plan for 64 miles of bike trails steers people off roads for commuting, shopping and recreation.
A web of Orange County bike trails will widen to 64 miles over the next decade, and three new trails are soon to take shape, says Orange County Planning Commissioner Alan Sorensen. The Bikeway Vision plan became part of the county’s comprehensive plan update that was approved on December 7. The cost will be $112 million, but federal and state funding will pay for about 85% of that, he said. The “vision” aims for trails that traverse business districts, residential areas and transportation hubs as well as scenic areas, to support sustainable commuting, commerce, tourism and good health in this too sedentary, screen-transfixed world.
The Bikeway Vision, according to Sorensen’s 35-page document describing the project, “is to establish a separated non-motorized transportation system throughout Orange County, NY, that provides a realm for the most vulnerable users of our roadways to travel and recreate safely and stress-free both within communities and over long distances.”
He also pointed out the revealing contrast between American and European transportation, which the plan aims to emulate:
“European countries have made significant investments in non-motorized transportation systems and transit since the 1960s, and today Europe has an extensive bicycle and pedestrian network that promotes walking, cycling, and the use of public transit. A 2014 study found 85 percent of daily trips in America were made by car, compared to 50 to 65 percent in Europe. Americans drove for short trips 70 percent of the time, while 70 percent of Europeans walked, biked, or took public transit.”
The seven “Core Segments” of the Bikeway will be developed in this order:
1. Heritage Trail (19.5 miles existing), 1.25 miles from Harriman to Middletown;
2. Schunnemunk Rail Trail, 10.0 miles from Chester to the Town of Cornwall at Salisbury Mills;
3. Middletown & New Jersey Rail Trail, 12.8 miles from the City of Middletown to the Village of Unionville;
4. Salisbury Mills – Storm King Rail Trail, 3.0 miles;
5. Campbell Hall to Walden Rail-with-Trail, 9.0 miles;
6. Goshen – Campbell Hall Rail Trail, 4.5 miles, and;
7. Storm King – Newburgh Rail Trail, 5.5 miles from Storm King Art Center to the City of Newburgh
Sorensen described the Heritage Trail and Walden-Wallkill Rail Trail as the “base trails,” and the Schunnemunk Trail as the “most significant extension.” It will connect the Heritage Trail to Cornwall via Camp LaGuardia. The $28 million project has been funded.
Work to expand the bikeway begins with “Heritage Trail Segment 3,” from East Main St. in Middletown to Ingrassia Rd. in the Town of Wallkill. These two miles will cost $3 million, Sorensen said. The long term plan is to extend the trail from Ingrassia Rd. to Howells, a tiny hamlet with a population of about 50 between Middletown and Otisville.
“That project extends the Heritage Trail through downtown Middletown and connects the business district to neighborhoods, going from one end of the city to another,” he said. “From East Main St., the route connects the Heritage Trail with Ingrassia Rd. where a trail head will provide a place to park and ride through Middletown.”
The Schunnemunk Trail connects with the Heritage Trail at Camp LaGuardia and offers a route to Cornwall, near Salisbury Mills; a proposal is in motion to make Camp LaGuardia a park. Schunnemunk also goes through Washingtonville with several bridge crossings over Moodna Creek “with some breathtaking views,” said Sorensen, on the way to connecting to schools and businesses.
The 7.8-mile Middletown to New Jersey bike trail will likely take shape in 2027, he said. Surveying has been done, but costs are yet to be estimated.
One stretch being surveyed for trail use runs from Slate Hill to Unionville, on the edge of New Jersey, near Wantage.
“The trail will connect Unionville, Westtown and Slate Hill residential communities with parks along the route,” said Sorensen. “The south end, at Unionville, will connect the rail trail to the Appalachian Trail. We hope to eventually connect the trail to Middletown and the Heritage Trail.”
Orange County became involved in trail development in 2020 when the Open Space Institute invited their partnership in pursuing right-of-ways along 10 miles of the abandoned Erie Railroad line for a trail from Cornwall to Chester.
Now “micro-projects” are being designed to create local connections to trails, for instance between downtown Middletown and the Heritage Trail and between Port Jervis and the watershed and O&W trails, Sorensen said, so people, particularly kids, become accustomed to traveling on bike trails, not roads.
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